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of Jacob Boehme |
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There is a "Mystery" (Secret) that the "church-at-large" has hidden from and deprived Christians the knowledge of almost since its inception !!! Jesus stated: "Everyone who hears these words of mine and does them is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain fell, the flood came, and the winds beat against that house, but it did not collapse because it had been founded on the rock. Everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain fell, the flood came, and the winds beat against that house, and it collapsed; it was utterly destroyed!" **** Matthew 7:24-27 Around the year 300, the builders of His Church abandoned "The Rock" and began building upon a false foundation of sand. This was based upon intellectual learning and PURELY HUMAN reasoning, rationale, philosophy and understanding. Today, the so-called "christian church" - which Jacob Boehme refers to as "The Church of Babel" - rests upon this foundation of sand, and is more-and-more crumbling to pieces (as it justly deserves). So, just WHAT is "The ROCK" versus "The Sand" ?? Simple: The former is based upon revelation by God's living, Holy Spirit as attested to by Nature, while the latter is based upon the intellectual learning and reasoning of the human mind, devoid of said Spirit. It confuses the living, natural and organic with the doctrinal, dogmatic, forensic and judicial. All of nature - Eternal (Spiritual) as well as Natural - functions according to the principle of Birth - governed by the "Three Principles and the Seven Properties" taught by Jacob Boehme. All disruption, lack of harmony, and Sin - be it in living or inanimate creation - is a result of a lack of proper balance in these. These will be explained in detail later in this essay. Click HERE The "Church of Babel" - to the contrary - fashioned it's model according to man's reasoning and perceptions, and took its form from human justice with its courts and power, from human philosophy, and ESPECIALLY from man's precepts of RELIGION !! In the minds of the VAST majority of "christiandom" today, the Fall, SIN and Redemption is strictly a Forensic, Judicial and LEGAL affair. God, instead of being "Father", became Caesar, Dictator, Judge, Ruler and Sovereign !! His "Kingdom", rather than being made up as a FAMILY, became fashioned after the Courts of the Roman Empire and its Judicial System. Adam's SIN - now rather than being an error, a "missing of the designated mark", a deviation from the intended plan - became a CRIME requiring judicial investigation and punishment. According to the "new" theology, God no longer looked upon His World and His Creation with eyes of Fatherly Compassion, Love and Understanding. Now -- His "injured Honor and Judicial Dignity" needed to be placated, His "Justice" needed to be satisfied, His "Vengeance and Wrath" needed to be appeased - and MOST important - an appropriate victim was needed to pay for the Cosmic Crime that had been committed against this "Caesar God" !! All of these twisted distortions of the TRUE God shaped the theology of the "church" to come!! The theology of MOST of "Christendom" became that Adam (and in him MAN-kind) sinned in the Garden of Eden by transgressing God's law and becoming a moral criminal. God (as the Universal Judge) pronounced him "Guilty" and condemned him to (eternal) death. However, God (as Father) felt sorry for His children and came up with this plan -- Jesus would come to earth as a man, live a perfect life, and suffer and die instead of Man. In this way, God's "Justice" would be satisfied since, after all, there WAS a Cosmic Crime and SOMEONE needed to pay for it. So, now that God's "Justice" is satisfied, and He has expended the wrath that was due to Man upon Jesus, He can now say to Man, "I forgive you your transgression (sins) because someone else (Jesus) has already paid for your crime and I don't believe in 'double jeopardy'". Instead of a "New Birth" or renewal of the Life which was originally lost in Adam being THAT which was required to remedy our "Fall", Jesus is presented as the "Judicial Scapegoat" upon whom God (unjustly) placed the penalty for Adam's "crime" and from whom He extracted the required "payment". In other words, God poured out His (supposed) "Divine Anger and Wrath" upon Jesus and thereby spared us !! Now - rather than an ACTUAL "New Birth" being the outcome of the work that Christ did for us - that we might, by the power of God's indwelling Spirit, ACTUALLY lead Righteous Lives (living according to God's will for us) - Jesus rather "suffered in OUR stead - or INSTEAD of us rather than FOR us or ON ACCOUNT of us". He "paid the fine or penalty instead of us for the crime that was committed". The Father (the Judicial Magistrate) punished Christ instead of us. He placed the "needed funds" into our "empty account". In almost ALL of today's "Western Churches and Theology", the work that Christ did is "Reckoned on our behalf" - He "took our place and suffered and died INSTEAD of us". As a consequence, "His righteousness is IMPUTED to us". We are still "Sinners prone to continual Sin". However - or so THEY claim - now, when the Father looks at us, He no longer sees our filthy SIN stained garments (lives), but rather "His Son's White Coat of Righteousness" !! This travesty of injustice their "Human Wisdom" is pleased to represent as God's plan for Salvation, Redemption and Reconciliation instead of - through our NEW life and the indwelling of God's Spirit and Power - being ACTUALLY MADE to be Righteous in God's sight. It is by THIS change (and NOT by some fabled "Imputed Righteousness") that we are enabled to "do His Will", and are ACTUALLY and continually being "transformed into the Image of Christ" !! The BULK of the "christian church" no longer preaches and teaches "transformed lives unto the Image of Christ" as being the touchstone of salvation or the "new birth". NO, it is rather church membership and attendance, adherence to a particular creed, acceptance (at least by word) of chosen doctrines and teachings, adherence to particular church ordinances and rules, and avoiding certain thoughts and/or actions which the particular "church" under consideration define as being "sins" !! The "church is like a "secret society"- in which you have to get the wording of the "secret password" (doctrinal confession) exactly right, undergo the initiation rites, and live and abide by ALL of the rules - if you expect to become and remain a member. Those who fail to measure up are "cast out into the realms of eternal darkness" !!
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As stated earlier, "All of nature - Eternal (Spiritual) as well as Natural - functions according to the principle of Birth - governed by the "Three Principles and the Seven Properties". All disruption, lack of harmony, and Sin - be it in living or inanimate creation - is a result of a lack of proper balance in these." Jacob Boehme's concept of the threefold structure of creation describes reality as the dynamic interaction of three eternal principles or "worlds" that flow from the nature of the divine itself. These are not merely static realms but active forces or qualities (darkness/wrath, light/love, and the created world) that combine to form the entirety of existence, from the spiritual to the physical. Although this process may seem to be rather, "esoteric and mystical", it none- the-less forms a solid foundation upon which the ENTIRE working of BOTH the eternal (spiritual) and natural realms of Creation are based and operate -- including an ACTUAL and real explanation of Adam's Fall, SIN, and Restoration !! Adam's "Sin" consisted in using his power of divine, creative will or "Imagination" to transfer himself from the Divine (Eternal) World which was meant to be his proper home into the lower or created world. His "Fall" was nothing less than his separation from God's indwelling, governing presence (Spirit). Since this Spirit was the harmonizing, unifying force within the Seven Qualities, this loss created a break or disruption at the"forth quality", resulting in a separation of the first three qualities of the "dark" world of chaos and conflict from the last three of the "light" world of accord, love and unity. This is so because the first "Three Qualities" constituted "Nature" separate from the Spirit or Indwelling Presence of God. The second "Three Qualities" constituted the first three transmuted by the forth (God's Light Love, or Spirit) into the second three. You might say that the first three constituted the proper "receptacle or vessel" which God's Spirit might fill and work through. In other words, they were "The Hunger" and God's Spirit was the "Food". When said Spirit was withdrawn or broken off, ALL that remained was the insatiable Desire, Hunger and Want of their unnatural state, since it was NOT God's design that they should exist separately (see the following for an explanation). This "SIN" and "Fall" was not merely a one time act of disobedience or rebellion which could be repaired merely by an act of "Divine Forgiveness". Rather, it resulted in a disruption of the entire "Sevenfold Cycle" of the creation of which Adam had chosen to become a part of. It required NOT 'forgiveness" on God's part, but an ultimate institution of a whole new creation, once more indwelt and governed by God through His Spirit !! THIS would be ADAM's (Mankind's) "salvation from SIN" and his restoration back into union with God. The Three Principles are: The First Principle: Darkness, Wrath, and the Fire World -- Emanating from the aspect of God the Father, this is the dynamic, active, and "masculine" principle. It is associated with the qualities of contraction, harshness, and a fiery anguish or "sourness". It is the origin of God's wrath and the potential for evil, which is a necessary tension for creation to become manifest. The first principle is considered the "ground" or foundation out of which the others arise.
For Boehme, this structure is a dynamic, ongoing process of divine self-revelation, not a static creation event. The human soul itself is a microcosm of this macrocosmic structure, capable of turning toward either the dark fire of self-centered existence or the divine light of love. Jacob Boehme's concept of the "sevenfold self-organization of reality" describes the seven essential qualities or "fountain-spirits" of Eternal Nature through which the unmanifested Divine Abyss differentiates itself to attain self-consciousness and manifest the phenomenal world. These qualities are not a sequence in time but eternal, co-dependent principles that work in perpetual, dynamic interaction. The process is a movement from an undifferentiated unity into a duality of opposing forces (darkness/light, wrath/love) and then into a structured, manifest creation. The Seven Qualities of Eternal Nature are: The seven qualities function like the different organs in a single body or colors that make up one picture; none can exist without the others, and all cooperate to produce the rich tapestry of reality. First Quality - The Astringent Quality (Desire): This is the beginning of contraction, a magnetic attraction that causes the eternal will to draw inward and create substantiality, darkness, and a foundational "acrid" quality. It is the will's initial act of self-conception.
This sevenfold cycle is an eternal process through which the unmanifest God reveals Himself to Himself, with human beings playing a crucial role in its conscious completion. |
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Jacob Boehme's Mystical Theology: An Overview Jacob Boehme (1575–1624), a German Lutheran mystic, shoemaker by trade, and self-taught theologian, developed a profound theosophical system influenced by alchemy, Kabbalah, and Christian mysticism. His writings, such as "The Aurora, Mysterium Magnum, The Way to Christ, and Three Principles of the Divine Essence", emphasize the interplay of divine principles --- wrath (fire/darkness) and love (light) --- within God, nature, and humanity. Boehme's theology is not abstract dogma, but a dynamic, experiential process rooted in inner revelation. He viewed salvation and redemption not as mere forensic declarations (e.g., external forgiveness) but as an ontological transformation where the soul participates in the divine drama. This perspective draws from biblical narratives, particularly Genesis and the Gospels, interpreted allegorically and mystically. Boehme's ideas were controversial in his time, leading to persecution, yet they influenced later thinkers like Hegel, Schelling, and Blake. In addressing how Christ's death affects man's salvation and redemption, Boehme explores themes of divine mercy, human fallenness, incarnational union, sacrificial conquest, and regenerative participation -- with nuances involving eternal preparation, alchemical transmutation, and the tension between wrath and love. The Fall of Man: Context for Redemption To understand Christ's death in Boehme's framework, one must first grasp humanity's fall, which creates the need for salvation. Boehme describes the pre-fallen Adam as a harmonious image of God, embodying the three principles: the dark fire (wrath/soul), the light (love/spirit), and substantiality (body/form). Adam's temptation by Lucifer (the fallen angel who coagulated divine essence into materiality) led to self-will asserting dominance, awakening vanity, discord, and enmity. This "fall into the outward world" introduced sin, death, and the "beastial form", where the soul became imprisoned in wrathful compression, separated from divine light. The earth was cursed, humanity subjected to temporal decay, and the heavenly substantiality "disappeared" into a monstrous, earthly husk. Consequences include eternal perdition, loss of paradisiacal unity, and bondage to the devil's temptations, self-will, and corrupt flesh --- three "chains" that bind the soul in God's anger. Nuances here include Boehme's alchemical view: The fall is like a "coagulation" of divine powers into rigid materiality, turning harmonious properties (good/evil, light/dark) into contrariety. Implications extend to all creation; nature itself groans under wrath, awaiting redemption. Even holy parents propagate sin in the flesh, necessitating personal redemption for each soul. Without intervention, humanity would perish in hellish horror, but God's eternal mercy --- hidden as a "spark" or the name "Jesus" in Paradise --- prepares salvation from before the world's foundation. The Eternal Preparation and Role of Christ in Redemption Boehme posits that redemption was eternally ordained in God's heart, with Christ as the "warrior in the battle" against sin. The Son, as divine light and love, enters humanity to rekindle the imprisoned soul, transforming wrath into love and death into life. This is not arbitrary but necessary: Only the absolute will (God) becoming relative (incarnate) can conquer death's hold. Christ's role bridges divine and human realms, manifesting as the "celestial man" who assumes terrestrial nature without sin, uniting the three principles in harmony. Pre-incarnation symbols, like Old Testament sacrifices (e.g., the heifer and ram), foreshadow this: The heifer represents the gross earthly man slain and burned to cleanse wrath, while the ram embodies the anointed humanity offered to transmute anger into love. From multiple angles, Christ is the "Redeemer in man", a hidden spark active in the celestial part until full manifestation. Examples include the covenant with Eve ("the seed of the woman shall bruise the serpent's head"), symbolizing victory over wrath and falsehood. Nuances: Redemption is universal in intent ("God desires that all mankind shall be saved") but conditional on response; it is not coercive but invites free will to return to God. Implications: Without Christ, divine love could not penetrate wrathful nature, leaving humanity in eternal torment. How Christ's Death Achieves Salvation: The Process of Conquest and Transformation Christ's death is the climax of incarnation, where divine love enters death to extinguish it, satisfying God's wrath in soul and flesh. Boehme describes this mystically: Christ, in human form, faces three temptations (earthly sustenance, vanity, worldly rule) in the wilderness, conquering self-will and the devil's hold. His suffering mortifies the external animal man, crucifying passions in wrath-fire to purify the will. On the cross, Christ sacrifices self-will and holy love-will to the Father's wrath, entering death as a "sacrifice to His wrath-fire", with celestial blood tincturing human blood, turning hell's poison into paradise and wrath into love. This breaks death's sting, imprisons devils in darkness, and reconciles wrath and love's kingdoms. From an alchemical perspective, death transmutes the body: The elementary (decaying) and astral (intelligent but antipathic) bodies are subdued, allowing the spiritual body (from the holy element) to emerge. Resurrection follows, igniting new life as light breaks through darkness, regenerating the soul into eternal joy. Examples: Like fire devouring oil to produce light, the soul (as wrath-fire) receives Christ's love-fire, unlocking the paradisical ground. Nuances: Christ's death is both historical and eternal; it's perpetuated in believers, not a one-time event. Edge cases: Even in death, the inner man remains unharmed in God, emerging from the "torment-house." Implications: This conquers not just personal sin but cosmic death, heralding the terrestrial world's destruction and nature's regeneration, where matter infuses with light, souls clothe in Christ's substance, and humanity attains luminous, indestructible bodies like primordial Adam.
Personal Participation: Dying to Sin and the New Birth Boehme insists salvation requires active participation, not passive assent. Mere knowledge ("Christ died for us") is insufficient; one must "die in Christ's Death to the evil natural own Will" and rise in His resurrection. This involves earnest repentance: Considering one's bondage, resolving to forsake vanity, entering Christ's passion under the cross, and wrestling temptations. The soul penetrates Christ's blood and death, killing sin, the "Serpent-Monster", and false imagination. Through humility and childlike faith, self-will surrenders to helplessness, becoming God's instrument. Sacraments facilitate this: Baptism incorporates Christ's humanity, drowning sin in His blood and anointing with the Holy Ghost; the Supper participates in His flesh/blood via faith's "fiery mouth", kindling love-fire. Examples: The soul, like a flower from wild earth, springs anew as a "branch on the Vine Christ." Nuances: Even children of holy parents inherit fleshly sin, needing personal covenant; hypocrisy (external faith without inner death) leads to judgment. Edge cases: Ongoing strife between inward spirit and outward flesh persists until perfection; doubt or backsliding requires renewed resignation. Implications: This fosters divine indwelling --- heaven within --- enabling godlike perception, eternal assurance, and works of love, but demands daily self-denial amid scorn or loss. Broader Implications, Nuances, and Related Considerations Boehme's view integrates multiple angles: Theologically, it emphasizes mystical union over legalism -- alchemically, transmutation of essences -- cosmically, redemption of all creation. Nuances include gender: Redemption manifests preeminently in womanhood via the celestial virgin's influence. Implications for ethics: True Christians war against flesh, manifesting divine works -- for eschatology: The world's end accelerates regeneration. Edge cases: Souls post-death face unrest if attached to lusts, but faith ignites eternal love. Related considerations: Boehme warns against speculation --- earnestly practice resignation. His ideas challenge orthodoxies, risking misinterpretation as pantheism, yet affirm Trinitarian distinctions. In summary, Christ's death, for Boehme, is the divine love's victory over wrath, enabling humanity's transformative return to God through participatory death and rebirth, restoring eternal harmony. |
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Key Points on Jacob Boehme's View of Christ's Death in Salvation and Redemption
Research suggests that, according to Boehme, Christ's death conquers the wrath and death introduced by sin, transforming them into love and life, though this requires active participation from the individual soul. It seems likely that Boehme sees redemption not as a mere external event, but as an internal regeneration where the soul dies to self-will in union with Christ's passion. Evidence leans toward the idea that salvation involves awakening the divine inner man lost in Adam, with Christ's cross acting as the pivotal point of reconciliation between divine wrath and love. Christ's Entry into Death In Boehme's theology, Christ's death serves as the divine intervention to heal humanity's fall. By entering human flesh and dying, Christ confronts and defeats the powers of sin, death, and hell that rule over fallen man. This act opens a pathway for souls to escape wrath and enter divine life, as described in detailed analyses of his works like "The Way to Christ and Aurora". For a lay person, think of it as Christ absorbing humanity's corruption to restore access to God's love --- not automatically for all, but through personal surrender. The Soul's Participation Boehme emphasizes that salvation requires the soul to "die" in Christ's death, forsaking vanity and self-will. This mystical union regenerates the inner man, incorporating the soul into Christ's heavenly body. Sources highlight that mere belief in the historical event isn't enough; one must earnestly repent and wrap the soul in Christ's passion to experience redemption. Transformation of Wrath to Love A core mechanism is the cross as the site where divine love overcomes wrath. Christ's sacrifice transmutes human earthliness into heavenly essence, reconciling God and man. This process, drawn from Boehme's writings, suggests a profound alchemical-like change in the soul's essence, leading to eternal life. In-Depth Exploration of Jacob Boehme's Theology on Christ's Death, Salvation, and Redemption Jacob Boehme (1575–1624), a German Lutheran mystic, philosopher, and shoemaker by trade, developed a profound and intricate theology influenced by his visionary experiences and deep engagement with Scripture. His works, such as "Aurora" (1612), "The Three Principles of the Divine Essence" (1619), and "The Way to Christ" (1624), blend Christian doctrine with alchemical, Kabbalistic, and Neoplatonic elements in order to explain the cosmic drama of creation, fall, and restoration. Central to his thought is the role of Christ's death as the pivotal act that reverses humanity's fall into sin and death, enabling salvation and redemption. Boehme's views are not systematic in a scholastic sense, but rather unfold through symbolic, experiential language. They portray God as a dynamic unity of opposing principles --- wrath (fire) and love (light) --- resolved in Christ. This section delves into the mechanisms of Christ's death according to Boehme, drawing on his key texts and scholarly interpretations to provide a comprehensive overview. The Context of the Fall: Humanity's Need for Redemption To understand how Christ's death functions in Boehme's soteriology (doctrine of salvation), one must first grasp his view of the Fall. Boehme describes Adam's original state as a harmonious unity in God's eternal nature, embodying divine wisdom (Sophia) and living in paradisiacal essentiality. However, Adam's temptation introduced self-will, awakening the "wrathful" properties of eternal nature --- fire, bitterness, and anguish --- leading to a "death" relative to the celestial kingdom. This fall fragmented humanity into three principles: the eternal divine, the eternal wrathful (hellish), and the temporal earthly. As a result, man became imprisoned in sin, with the "inner (divine) man" disappearing and the soul subjected to death's rule. In "The Threefold Life of Man", Boehme explains: "Adam and Eve died to the Kingdom of Heaven, and awaked to the outward World... the Soul became in one Part, viz., in the inward Nature, a half Devil, and in the outward Part as related to the outward World, a Beast." This introduced a cosmic imbalance, where wrath dominates, and humanity cannot escape by its own power. Sin's consequence is not mere moral failure but an ontological shift: the soul's tincture (essence) becomes corrupted, generating a "terrestrial will" aligned with the devil and the stars (astrological influences). Redemption, therefore, requires divine intervention to restore unity, bruise the serpent's head (self-will), and regenerate the lost heavenly image. Boehme stresses that without this restoration, humanity remains in perdition. God's mercy, however, preordains redemption through the eternal Word (Logos), which embodies itself in the name "Jesus" even before creation, as a seed in Adam's soul. This sets the stage for Christ's incarnation as the "Treader on the Serpent," fulfilling promises from Genesis onward. Christ's Incarnation: God Entering Humanity's Plight Boehme's Christology portrays Christ as the eternal Son who assumes human flesh to penetrate the depths of fallen creation. Unlike traditional atonement theories focused on penal substitution, Boehme emphasizes a mystical, transformative process. Christ takes on humanity's essence --- including the "disappeared" heavenly substantiality lost in Adam --- while remaining sinless. He incorporates sins and infirmities to destroy their power: "Herein he took upon himself all our Sins and Infirmities, also Death and Hell in the Wrath of God, and destroyed their Power in the human Properties." This incarnation allows God to enter the "third principle" (the temporal world), confronting wrath directly. Boehme uses alchemical imagery: Christ as the "tincture" that purifies corrupted human blood with divine love. In "The Way to Christ", he writes: "The Wrath of God was the Hell into which the Spirit of Christ went, when He had shed that heavenly Blood into our outward human Blood, and tinctured it with the Love; thereby changing that Hell of the human Property into Heaven." Christ's humanity, born of Mary (the "new Eve" who preserved the divine seed), becomes the bridge, making divine essentiality accessible. The Crucifixion: Conquest of Death and Wrath The death of Christ on the cross is the climax of this redemptive drama. Boehme views the cross as the symbolic center of nature (the fourth natural form), where opposing forces --- wrath and love --- collide and resolve. Christ enters death voluntarily to conquer it from within: "Christ had to die and to enter into the divine essentiality through hell and through the wrath of eternal nature, and to open a road for our soul through death and through the wrath, on which we may enter with Him by means of death into divine life." This act breaks death's power, as Christ sacrifices humanity's corrupted image to God's wrath, allowing love to triumph: "The humanity of Christ gave itself up as a sacrifice to the wrath of the Father, entering entirely into His fire-essence; but the love-spirit of God defeated the wrathful essence of the fire." The result is transmutation --- wrath becomes love, earth becomes heaven, and hell's sting is removed. Boehme draws on Old Testament typology: sacrifices prefigure Christ's manhood, expiating wrath through faith. In "The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme", this is elaborated: "The wrath must kill and consume the external image that has grown in the wrath, but from its death springs forth the eternal life." Christ's resurrection then overcomes hell, imprisoning devils and freeing life: "By the power of the glorification at which the Redeemer arrived through His entering into death He overcame the power of hell, so that now the life again issued from death." The Soul's Participation: Dying in Christ for New Birth Salvation is not passive; Boehme insists on the soul's active involvement. Redemption requires "dying" to sin in Christ's death, a mystical union where the soul wraps itself in His passion: "I sink my Desire into Your Death, into the Gate of Your Death, which You have broke open. O You great Fountain of the Love of God, I beseech YOU, help me, that I may die from my Vanity and Sin in the Death of my Redeemer, Jesus Christ." This process involves earnest repentance --- acknowledging one's imprisonment in sin, forsaking worldly pleasures, and entering the cross's suffering. The soul must mortify self-will, nailing it to the cross: "Man must cease to act by his false imagination; he must put it to death --- into the hiddenness; nail it to the cross of Christ, and there, through lack of indulgence and nourishment, it dies; and then comes the 'new-birth', --- light, liberty and love!" Through this, the Holy Spirit renews the mind, and the soul partakes of Christ's flesh and blood spiritually: "The Essence of that Life eats the Flesh of Christ, and drinks his Blood... the Hunger of the Soul received into it... the holy Heavenly Substance, viz., Christ's Heavenly Corporality." Regeneration restores the heavenly image, making the soul a temple of God: "The regenerated, new-born soul in Christ has not only a new spirit, but is a new creation, with an everlasting (spiritual) body." Boehme warns against superficial faith: "All such Flattery of ourselves by saying, 'Christ has paid the Ransom, and made satisfaction for Sin, and that He died for our Sins', is a false and vain Comfort, if we also do not die from Sin in Him." True salvation is "the life of Jesus Christ in us", an inward resurrection from Adam's wasted flesh. Broader Implications: Universal Mercy and Eternal Harmony Boehme's theology is optimistic: God desires all to be saved, not through external rites but inner grace. Christ's death universalizes redemption, available to all of those who hunger for God. It reconciles the three principles, turning multiplicity back to unity. In eternity, redeemed souls dwell in divine love, free from wrath. This table summarizes core elements, illustrating the interconnected process:
Boehme's emphasis on experiential mysticism distinguishes his view, influencing later thinkers like William Blake and idealist philosophers. In summary, Boehme's doctrine portrays Christ's death as a cosmic victory over death, enabling personal redemption through participatory death and rebirth. It invites a transformative journey from wrath to love, rooted in divine mercy. |
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The following section is taken from "The Spirit of Love - The Third Dialog" by William Law. He derived his understanding from the deep, mystical insight and revelation that God was pleased to impart to His servant Jacob Boehme regarding the Nature of Creation, of Man, of his Fall, and of his Redemption. Law, however, provides a much clearer and easier to understand restating of Boehme's writings, most of which require a considerable effort to understand. What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members? You lust and do not have, so you commit murder. You are envious and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. **** James 4:1-2 For all that is in the world -- the lust and sensual craving of the flesh and the lust and longing of the eyes and the boastful pride of life [pretentious confidence in one's resources or in the stability of earthly things] -- these do not come from the Father, but are from the world. **** 1John 2:16 (amplified Bible) Covetousness, Envy, Pride, and Wrath, are the four Elements of Self, or Nature, or Hell, all of them inseparable from it. And the Reason why it must be thus, and cannot be otherwise, is because the natural Life of the Creature is brought forth for the Participation of some high supernatural Good in the Creator. But it could have no Fitness or possible Capacity to receive such Good, unless it was in itself both an Extremity of Want, and an extremity of Desire of some high Good. When, therefore, this natural Life is deprived of, or fallen from God, it can be nothing else in itself but an Extremity of Want, continually desiring, and an Extremity of Desire, continually wanting. And hence it is, that its whole Life can be nothing else but a Plague and Torment of Covetousness, Envy, Pride, and Wrath, all which is precisely Nature, Self, or Hell. Now Covetousness, Pride, and Envy, are not three different Things, but only three different Names, for the restless Workings of one and the same Will or Desire, which, as it differently torments itself, takes different Names; for nothing is in any of them, but the working of a restless Desire, and all this because the natural Life of the Creature can do nothing else but work as a Desire. And therefore, when fallen from God, its three first Births, and which are quite inseparable from it, are Covetousness, Envy, and Pride. It must covet, because it is a Desire proceeding from Want; it must envy, because it is a Desire turned to Self; it must assume and arrogate, because it is a Desire founded on a real Want of Exaltation, or a higher State. Now Wrath, which is a fourth Birth from these three, can have no Existence, till some or all of these three are contradicted, or have something done to them that is contrary to their Will; and then it is that Wrath is necessarily born, and not till then. Thus you see in the highest Degree of Certainty, what Nature or Self is, as to its essential, constituent Parts. It is the three aforementioned, inseparable Properties of a Desire thrown into a fourth of Wrath, that can never cease, because their Will can never be gratified. For these four Properties generate one another, and therefore generate their own Torment. They have no outward Cause, nor any inward Power of altering themselves. Therefore, all Self, or Nature, must be in this State till some supernatural Good comes into it, or gets a Birth in it. Therefore, every Pain or Disorder, in the Mind or Body of any intelligent Creature, is an undeniable Proof that it is in a fallen State, and has lost that supernatural Good for which it was created. So certain a Truth is the fallen State of all Mankind. Here lies the absolute, indispensable Necessity of the one Christian Redemption. Till fallen Man is born again from above, till such a supernatural Birth is brought forth in him, by the eternal Word and Spirit of God, he can have no possible Escape or Deliverance from these four Elements of Self or Hell. While Man indeed lives among the Vanities of Time, his Covetousness, Envy, Pride, and Wrath, may be in a tolerable State, may help him to a Mixture of Peace and Trouble; they may have at Times their Gratification's, as well as their Torments. However, when Death has put an End to the Vanity of all earthly Cheats, the Soul that is not born again of the supernatural Word and Spirit of God, must find itself unavoidably devoured, or shut up in its own insatiable, unchangeable, self-tormenting Covetousness, Envy, Pride, and Wrath. Oh!, that I had Power from God to take those dreadful Scales from the Eyes of every Deist, which hinder him from seeing and feeling the infinite importance of this most certain Truth. |
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When I posted this article on a forum, I received the following response. The Question is reproduced in DARK BLUE . His ideas (Boehme's) were hard for me to follow - the language was very mystical, and honestly, it kind of "weirded me out". William Law, however, was interesting. I sensed a core of truth in his ideas, especially his emphasis on being "Born Again", and how - in a sense - we have become "divine beings". However, that is a concept that you have to be very careful with, as it can very easily be abused. However, what disturbed me about both of them is their view of redemption through the death and resurrection of Jesus and His blood. They seemed in total denial of this whole concept. So many scriptures seem to contradict their view. I don't have the time or energy to quote them -- you know them as well as I do. Their concept of sin is also interesting. It is like, at least to me, seeing it as a "rip" in the spiritual space-time fabric of the Universe, from which all chaos and evil proceed forth. At least, that is how I read it ! Just want to take a moment and respond to your post. First -- You are VERY right when you state that some people might misunderstand the concept of "we have become divine beings". However, they both stated that we were being transformed into "SEMI-Divine Beings" and NOT "Divine Beings". What else WOULD a being who is filled with and derives his life from that of "The Divine" be called ?? Also, what points of Mankind's Redemption have NOT been misunderstood and abused, as per the entire point of my article. This has been going on since biblical days, as Peter noted, "Speaking of these things in all his (Paul's) letters. Some things in these letters are hard to understand, things the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they also do to the rest of the scriptures". **** 2Pet 3:16. Again Paul was FALSELY accused of saying, "Since through Sin, God's Grace has become evident, therefore, let us Sin in abundance so that we might experience the abundance of His Grace" -- to which he responded "................ where sin increased, grace multiplied all the more. What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Absolutely not!" **** Romans 5: 5:20,6:1 Second -- No, neither of them expressly spoke of "The Blood of Christ" - maybe for a very good reason. They were not writing a "Biblical thesis using Biblical terms". They were dealing in Cosmological ideas as they affected the very core and nature of ALL of creation. As I see it, the Term, "Blood of Christ" does NOT really relate to his BLOOD as if it were some magical elixir separate from His person. That is where the mistaken Pentecostal concepts of "pleading the Blood", saved by the Blood", "washed in the Blood", "standing on the Blood" etc. came from. I have even heard it taken to such levels of absurdity as that, "when Christ ascended into Heaven, He presented His Blood in a bowl to the Father as atonement for Man's Sins" !! When the Bible uses the term "Blood", what it really means is the ENTIRE LIFE. See scriptures below: "For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that makes an atonement for the soul". **** Leviticus 17:11
By this definition, both Boehme and Law speak about NOTHING else other than the necessity and proficiency of the Death and Resurrection of The Christ as being the ONLY means of overcoming the desolation of Adam's Sin !! Now exactly HOW this is achieved can not so easily be related. It is described in complex Cosmological and Alchemical terms. In VERY short and simple terms, they state that it was necessary for the Logos (Son, second member of the Trinity) to take upon Himself human flesh and blood (to become truly human) - to die so that He might enter into the very core of created nature, at the forth principle where Darkness and Light had become separated - and by the "Divine Alchemy of Love" mend and restore said breach, and thus overcome the "wrath" that had been set loose in creation (including man) As a matter of fact - as I noted in a recent post - they not only affirm that this process of "being born-again" or being reunited with and indwelt by the Divine Presence (Spirit) is vitally important, but they go much, MUCH further!!! Their writings outline that if THIS is lacking, then not only is "something" lost but ALL is lost. Without this we cannot say, "well, at least we have something". No, rather, without THIS mankind has NOTHING at all !! Without this there is NO redemption or rectification of our fractured creation. If you say that this sounds rather "weird and far-fetched', I would restate from my article that it is not nearly as much so as the absurd system of salvation and redemption that the human, intellectual, rational and wordily "Church of Babel" has devised. They have used minds totally devoid of the Living Presence of Christ to fabricate a purely human system of religion. Does not Paul state, "The carnal (natural) mind cannot understand (nor even perceive) the things of the Spirit, for they are SPIRITUALLY discerned" **** 1Cor 2:14. |
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I am going to primarily examine THREE major categories -- Original Man, Fallen Man and Redeemed Man (meaning woman also). These encompass the THREE principles of Sin, Redemption and Sanctification (the New Life). (I.) Original Man -- Sin **** Theology's attack and slander of both the Character and Love of God begins right at the start of Divine Revelation, The Book of Genesis and the Creation of Man. Western Theology asserts that God is of the character of a warden or parole officer - Man was His charge, placed in the Garden under probation. The Tree of Good and Evil was placed there as a TEST to see whether or not Man would be obedient to the will of God, or rebel unto his OWN self-will. God placed the probation - NOT to eat of the tree - as the main term of his "test of obedience". As the sad story goes, Man DID choose his OWN will, DID eat of the forbidden fruit, and was cast out of the Garden by God as a "Cosmic Criminal" for his offense. William Law and Jacob Boehme (and the SPIRIT of Scripture) paint quite a different scenario: They see God as a loving Father, delighted in His new child, and anxious to guide and mature him in the ways of His (God's) creation. The account in Genesis, rather than being a TRIAL, is instead the explanation of a loving father to His immature son of the ways of this new world and life that he finds himself created into. In effect, God explains WHO and What he (Adam) is and how he will need to conduct himself to avoid disaster. God goes on to explain that Adam had been created as a THREE part, semi-divine being - inhabiting all three principles or "worlds" of creation: (1) The Divine, Light World of God's Spirit
Man's TRUE life was to be the Divine Life of the Spirit, and it was in THIS that he was to live and function as his "life principle". As long as he did so, he could function in and care for the external creation as its "lord and god", and bring it to increasing measures of maturity and glory. He was, however, NOT to long for this external world, nor want to be a part of it, nor partake of its existence, nor want HIS spirit or essence to mingle with ITS spirit or essence. If he were to do this, due to his nature and the nature of the created world that he inhabited, he would loose his divine spirit and his connection with God, and be cast down into the created nature that he longed for. This was NOT an arbitrary fiat of God Himself, but merely the natural outworking of the nature of his existence. Well, sad to say, as children STILL do today, Man ignored his Father's wise instruction, chose his own will and way, and suffered the consequences !! "To Miss the Mark" -- or the TRUE Nature of SIN !! SIN, we will see, is NOT ANY particular action nor series of actions, but became the ACTUAL STATE of Man(kind). He had "missed the mark" of his intended creation - to live in union and harmony with God, his Father, via the indwelling Holy Spirit life-force that he had been given. Man was now separated from God by an impassible gulf, separated from the indwelling - life giving Spirit of God, and isolated in this created world. He could no longer do ANYTHING but "SIN" !! I recently thought of a parallel example as it relates to a "mentally damaged" person that I have shared a house with for a long period of time. This person is not what one would normally classify as "insane", but their mind no longer functions properly in the realm of understanding and analytical, deductive, rational thought.
Almost everything that this person does or thinks, therefore, "misses the mark" of the "NORMAL", expected action and thought process. They are "WRONG" in the sense of NOT conforming to "healthy, expected norms" !!
Thus it is with Mankind after "the Fall". Now, devoid of God's indwelling and empowering Spirit, his thoughts and actions can no longer measure up to the "expected norm" of his creation. They ALL SIN or "miss the mark". Some of his thoughts and actions may still be what humankind now calls "good", while others may be downright evil and wicked. However, NONE of them conform to the "created, expected norm", since that could ONLY be achieved by the indwelling, empowering Spirit of God !! Please Note: The numbers in parentheses (264, etc.) denote Strong's Concordance reference numbers. For all have sinned (missed the mark - 264) and fall short of (are wanting) the Glory of God **** For all have sinned (missed the mark - 264) and missed the beauty of God's plan **** Romans 3:23
Thus, as the Apostle Paul tells us: "So then, just as sin entered the world through one man and death through sin, and so death spread to all people because all sinned" **** Rom 5:12 If you ask 100 people what THEY think "SIN" means, you will probably get 100 different definitions. In almost every case (if not EVERY), however, the person will be discussing "acts of sin" and not SIN itself !! All of this is merely the OUTGROWTH of "SIN" -- that ORIGINAL event at the dawn of Man's history, and which Jesus Christ became man to overcome and eradicate. Sad to say, the TRUE nature of SIN has been so confused and obscured (and in MANY cases trivialized) that, in our present day society, we are in a state of NEAR-TOTAL ignorance and denial regarding it.
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(II.) - Fallen Man -- Redemption **** If you understood the preceding explanation of "Sin", it should answer the oft-repeated question asked by unbelievers (and ALSO believers): "If God TRULY wanted to forgive Adam for his actions, why not merely FORGIVE him instead of instituting this complex system of Salvation and Redemption ??" Adam's "transgression" was NOT merely disobeying some "Divine Ordinance" for which God could simply say, "I understand that what you did, you did in ignorance and immaturity. You are my son, I love you, I forgive you" !! It was also NOT some "cosmic crime" for which the "Divine Judge" could convene the "Heavenly Tribunal", find Man guilty, and either impose or suspend just judgment. Nor could God (as some simple-minded "teachers" teach) merely transfer the "necessary compensation" into Adam's delinquent account from His (God's) account and tell Adam, "No problem, Adam, I Myself have paid the penalty for YOUR offense!!" NO, a Thousand Times NO !!!! This was NOT just a "breaking of The Law" -- This was (in modern terms) "a Rip in the Fabric of the Universe". One of the underlying principles of God's creation had been overturned, destroyed. Paradise had been banished from the earth and Hell brought in to replace it. The fault in this creation could NOT be mended nor merely repaired. The remedy needed to be as drastic as "a NEW Creation". The OLD needed to be done away with that the NEW might be instituted !! It is at THIS point that God begins to reveal His love to Fallen, wayward man. He implants the "seed" of His Spirit into fallen Man, to lie dormant until the "Times of Refreshing" should come. At that point, with the coming of the Messiah, Jesus Christ - as FULLY man and Fully Divine - the seed takes root, introducing a brand new species of human being into the universe. Where formerly, Adam had been the father of the OLD humanity, Jesus Christ becomes the "father" of the NEW humanity. As we "die" spiritually to the OLD line, we can be "born again" spiritually through faith in Jesus Christ into the NEW line. As we, as offspring, partook fully of the nature of our OLD father, we likewise partake fully of the nature of our NEW father, again becoming semi-divine beings, filled with the Holy Spirit of God. You have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ (who is your life) appears, then you too will be revealed in glory with him. You have put off the old man with its practices and have been clothed with the new man that is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of the one who created it. **** Colossians 3:3-10
Therefore, the "salvation" that is brought to us in Jesus Christ is NOT some "legal fiction" of a "forgiven or paid debt" and an "an imputed righteousness". Jesus did NOT pay some debt owed to the Father for mankind's transgression, He did NOT bear the burden of God's supposed "wrath and vengeance" for breaking His Law, and He most certainly did NOT balance the "Scales of Justice" by taking man's place before God's "Bar of Judgment" and serving the sentence Himself. What Jesus Christ REALLY DID DO was to provide that bridge which Man needed, whereby he might once more be united with God, his Father and Creator, by enabling Man to again be birthed in possession of and united with God's Living Holy Spirit. Man's righteousness (or "right-standing") before God is NOT achieved by some "magical imputation", but by REALLY, IN FACT being able to fulfill God's just requirements and expectations by means of God's living Holy Spirit indwelling and functioning THROUGH man on a continual basis. As the Apostle Paul proclaims: "I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So the life I now live in the body, I live because of the faithfulness of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." **** Gal 2:20
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(III.) - Redeemed Man --- Sanctification -- The "New Man" **** The bulk of "the church" is STILL bound up in the same delusion that resulted in the Jewish leaders crucifying their long awaited Messiah. They would NOT accept the fact that the external, outward dispensation given through Moses - for A WHILE - had been brought to an end with the advent of Jesus Christ. Before faith came we were held in custody under the law, being kept as prisoners until the coming faith would be revealed. Thus the law had become our guardian until Christ, so that we could be declared righteous by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian. For in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God through faith. **** Gal 3:23-26 God's ULTIMATE remedy for Man's fallen, alienated condition - his SIN condition - had NEVER been external rules and laws, tradition and ritual, outward formalities, or a REPAIR of Man's broken state. NO, God had something FAR more grand, magnificent and drastic in mind right from the day that he first comforted fallen Adam. He planned to do away with the old, tarnished, broken creation and replace it with a brand NEW one !! It would be one in which a merely CREATED being, MAN, would be elevated to near-divine status as TRUE Son's of God, possessing in themselves the Divine Nature. They would become the Heavenly, the Corporate Body of the Second Person of the Trinity, the ONLY uncreated Son of God - Jesus Christ Himself. Man would again be reunited with his God, Father and Creator - and would be enabled to fulfill his divine destiny of having God express ALL of his mighty wonders through His NEW Corporate Body, as had been His intention to do through individual men (and women) before Man's Fall. Just as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body -- though many -- are one body, so too is Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body. Whether Jews or Greeks or slaves or free, we were all made to drink of the one Spirit. For in fact the body is not a single member, but many. **** 1 Corinthians 12:12-14
Jesus Himself declares to us: "I tell you the solemn truth, unless a person is born from above, he cannot see the kingdom of God - unless a person is born of water and spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be amazed that I said to you, 'You must all be born from above.' If I have told you people about earthly things and you don't believe, how will you believe if I tell you about heavenly things?" **** John 3:3-12 Herein lies the ROOT of the problem. Down through the last 2,000 years, MUCH of "the church" and, EVEN WORSE, its leaders and teachers, have been themselves DEVOID of the Living Spirit of God !! They have declared it enthusiasm, foolishness, vanity - even HERESY - to believe that, as Jesus Himself and Paul stated: "It is ESSENTIAL that a Christian be 'born from above' with a VERY REAL rebirth and continual infilling by the living Spirit of God Himself". Lacking this, they had nothing more than carnal, earthy, natural minds - and could build nothing more or greater than a carnal, earthy, natural harlot of a "church" !! It is as the Apostle Peter wrote regarding Paul's letters: Speaking of these things in all his (Paul's) letters. Some things in these letters are hard to understand, things the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they also do to the rest of the scriptures. **** 2Pet 3:16 Being "Born Again" came to mean nothing more than to join some religious organization, be baptized according to their particular ritual, subscribe to their particular creed and confession, and submit to their particular rules and prohibitions. There was no change in the "Inner Man (the TRUE Self)", nor often (usually) was anything taught nor even mentioned regarding such change. Often, the teachers and/or leaders knew of no such change THEMSELVES !! Churches, monasteries, and seminaries became nothing more than DEAD "religious cemeteries"- where the "old man (dead in trespass and sin)" continued to walk and talk and labor, adding Sin to Sin, building HIS "Tower of Babel" trying to reach God by His labors and "sacrifice". What more, REALLY, could be expected - how could those who were (spiritually) dead themselves be expected to impart life to others ?? His ego, pride, and vanity COULD not and WOULD not accept the fact that the needed work had already been done by another (Jesus Christ), and he needed ONLY to embrace and enter into the New Life that had ALREADY been prepared for him. He needed ONLY to DIE to ALL that constituted his OLD, sinful man and embrace the promise of the NEW Heavenly Man!!!! If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; what is old has passed away -- look, what is new has come! **** 2Cor 5:17
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William Law and Jacob Boehme attempted to expound upon the details of such as God gave to them in THEIR visions. That is one of the things that makes reading their works so difficult, particularly those of Boehme. They try to convey what they saw and experienced in the words and concepts at their disposal, but they are trying to relate "Heavenly Glories" in earthly words and concepts. They know what THEY saw, but how do you tell a man who was born blind about colors or a man born deaf about sounds and music ??? Just as it is written, "Things that no eye has seen, or ear heard, or mind imagined, are the things God has prepared for those who love him." God has revealed these to us by the Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who among men knows the things of a man except the man's spirit within him? So too, no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things that are freely given to us by God. We speak about these things, not with words taught us by human wisdom, but with those taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual things to spiritual people. The unbeliever does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him. He cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. **** 1Cor 2:9-14 All that I can recommend that YOU do is what I have endeavored to do for myself -- allow God to "renew your mind", allow God's indwelling Spirit to "teach your New Man of the heavenly realities". Also, DILIGENTLY and continually read and study your Bible from front to back with an OPEN mind, allowing God to saturate your mind in His perspective and impart to you His "world view". Above all, DO NOT just read your "favorite Scriptures" to reinforce the perspective that you have ALREADY formed or (even worse) that someone else has given to you. Work at DILIGENTLY and thoughtfully reading and STUDYING the writings of William Law, "The Spirit of Love and the Spirit of Prayer". This will take some DISCIPLINED work at first because of its (seemingly) alien nature. I do, however, guarantee you that the end result will be worth the effort -- IF your desire is REALLY a deeper and more mature understanding of God and His World. If and when God should prompt you that you are ready, expand your reading and study to the writings of Jacob Boehme. THIS will probably take some REAL work and dedication, for I found that understanding these was MANY times more difficult than understanding Law's writings. However, like in any other endeavor, "You will reap in proportion to what you sow. If you sow LITTLE, you will reap LITTLE. If you have the insight and determination to sow MUCH, God will see that ultimately, you will reap MUCH" !! My Prayers and Blessings in God go with you and with your Study and Labors.
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