And Jehoshaphat said, "Is there not still a prophet of the LORD here, that we may inquire of Him?" So the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, "There is still one man, Micaiah the son of Imlah, by whom we may inquire of the LORD; but I hate him, because he does not prophesy good concerning me, but evil." (1 Kings 22:7-8)

King Ahab is almost a comical figure in his complaining about the bad news he always hears from a prophet of the Lord. The most amazing quality of his response is that he seems completely unaware of the fact that he is personally responsible for the evil prophecy that always comes his way. Ahab had noted that there was a clear pattern in what he heard, but it was not in his will to see that he could do anything about it.

Without patterns in life we could learn nothing. If there was no order to the world that our mind could recognize, we would be continuously overwhelmed with a clutter of sights, sounds, smells, sense of touch and we would be terribly limited in making any kind of choice. For example, what if sometimes the pews you’re sitting in had no more strength than thin cardboard and sometimes held you up as they do now? You would never know whether they were safe to sit on. What if sometimes your favorite kind of apple had it normal juicy flavor and other times, without any change in appearance, tasted terribly wretched? Wouldn't you hesitate before biting into one?

In our relationships with other people the patterns aren't always as clear. We sometimes are greatly surprised by the responses that others give us when we say or do something. We can think we are making a perfectly innocuous comment only to have someone explode in anger apparently as a result of what we said. We can try to be helpful and instead only makes a problem worse.

Soon we will mark the end of one calendar year and the beginning of a new one. It is common for many people to use this yearly transition to reflect on what has occurred in the past year. You can see magazine articles that review the year in pictures that consider who has made a particularly notable contribution of the years events. A person can also take stock of his or her own life over the past year and reflect on the patterns reflected by the events that have occurred.

The Lord strongly encourages us to do this kind of reflection. Even if this particular time of the year does not seem to be opportune for such consideration, it is absolutely vital that we make time for recognizing the key patterns in our lives: patterns in what we care about and think, patterns in what we say and do and patterns in the results that those words and actions produce. If we don’t see any patterns, we will not be learning much and will probably continue in habits that aren't good for ourselves and aren't good for the people around us as well.

Ahab as a king represents the understanding part of our mind that directs the decisions we make and our perspective on what is most important. The Lord has given us the capability of freely reflecting on our spiritual and natural patterns of life. As stated in Divine Providence 278, we are given the capability of looking at these things because we have the possibility of higher and lower thought, or interior and exterior thought. From the higher or interior thought we can look at what is happening in lower or more exterior plane of our minds. We have the capability of noting that we are in good or bad moods or that we are thinking more or less clearly than usual.

But by ourselves, all of this capability would not mean a tremendous amount because there are crucial patterns in life that natural observation does not give a person. The prophet, Micaiah, who Ahab viewed as a trouble maker represents truth from the Lord that must have its initial source in Divine revelation. Without Divine revelation there is much that we could not possibly know as clearly stated in the following passage from the Writings:

. . .without the Word no one would possess spiritual intelligence, which consists in having knowledge of a God, of heaven and hell, and of a life after death; nor would know anything whatever about the Lord, about faith in Him and love to Him, nor anything about redemption, by means of which nevertheless comes salvation. As the Lord also says to His disciples: “Without Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5); and to John: “A person can receive nothing except it be given him from heaven” (John 3:27). (Doctrine of the Sacred Scripture 114)

It is important for us to learn about the Lord and about what is true and good from the Word. But your knowledge and mine is relatively useless we recognize how its description of what is real and its description of the consequences of certain patterns of concern, thought, speech and action relate to our own lives. By ourselves we don’t want to see these patterns in our own lives.

Here's another passage:

. . .from themselves people do not desire to understand anything but that which comes from what is their own in their will, and also that it is not possible for them to do so unless there is some other source from which they may know it. From what is their own in their will people do not desire to understand anything except that which relates to themselves and to the world; everything above this is to them in thick darkness. (Doctrine of the Sacred Scripture 115)

Yet we have been clearly taught that above ourselves and the things of the natural world is a spiritual world that is actually more real and more lasting than this world. We have been clearly taught that our minds and spirits are constantly in the company of other spirits from that world. Without their presence we would have no thought nor would we care about anything. As we pursue our daily patterns of thought and action, we are strengthening ties to communities of those spirits. Our daily choices are spiritual investments in our eternal future. Some people are day by day connecting themselves ever more clearly to communities of spirits that will guarantee that they will feel critical of others and easily offended by the slightest inconvenience that crosses their path. Some are connecting themselves ever more clearly to communities of spirits that make it almost impossible for them to tell the truth to themselves and others--any troublesome event will be explained away or justified. Others are connecting themselves to communities who find their greatest delight in being of service to the people around them. Still others are connecting themselves to communities who really care about understanding what is true because they know that this is the only way they will be able to truly follow the Lord. The single community in the next life, either in heaven or hell, that we connect ourselves to most closely by our daily choices will be the one in which we live to eternity after death.

How can we know what kind of communities we are connecting ourselves to? By reflecting on the patterns in our own lives from a knowledge of what is true.

People who reflect, or are able to reflect, upon the affections of good and truth in themselves, and also upon their delight and pleasure, will notice a strong inclination for [some affections] in preference to another; but without reflection these and the like things do not appear. (Arcana Caelestia 3980)

Ahab did not want to see the patterns in his life that condemned some of his actions. He would prefer to listen to false prophets who promised wonderful things, but he could not escape the reality of the order that the Lord created. Whether he wanted to listen to it or not, the consequences of that order would influence his life.

Where will each of us find ourselves in the life after death? The Writings say that if we have a knowledge of how different good and evil loves correspond to different beautiful and ugly environments then we can know what our lot to eternity will be. This is described in the following passage from the book of the Writings called Heaven and Hell.

People who are engaged in [a knowledge of correspondences] can recognize and know their state after death provided they know their love and how it relates in its nature to the dominant love to which all love goes back.

However, people who are involved in self-love cannot know what their dominant love is because they love whatever is theirs and call their evils good. They also call false things true, the false notions that support them and that they use to rationalize their evils. If they were willing, though, they could still know [their dominant love] from other people who are wise, but these latter see what they themselves do not. This does not happen, though, in the case of people who are so enmeshed in their self-love that they have nothing but contempt for any teaching of the wise, who are wise, and who see what they themselves do not see. This however, is impossible with those who are so enticed by the love of self that they spurn all teaching of the wise.

On the other hand, people who are in heavenly love do accept instruction and do see the evils into which they were born when they are led into them. They see them from truths because truths make evils obvious. Anyone can in fact see what is evil and the distortion it causes by seeing from the truth that arises from what is good; but no one can see what is good and true from an evil standpoint. This is because the false notions that arise from evil are darkness and correspond to it. So people who are caught up in false notions, [concepts and prejudices] that arise from evil are like blind people who do not see things that are in the light, and they avoid them the way owls avoid daylight. (Heaven and Hell 487)

It’s not enough to just acknowledge that we all have spiritual faults and flaws. This acknowledgment can be utterly worthless and is so described in the True Christian Religion.

Cannot anyone understand, from the reason given him, that the mere lip-confession of being a sinner is not repentance, or the recounting of various particulars in regard to . . . ? For what is easier for a person when he is in trouble and agony, than to utter sighs and groans from his lungs and lips, and also to beat his breast and make himself guilty of all sins, and still not be conscious of any sin in himself? Do the diabolical horde who then occupy his loves, depart along with his sighs? Do they not rather hiss at those things, and remain in him as before, as in their own house? From this it is clear that such repentance is not what is meant in the Word; but repentance from evil works, as is said. (True Christian Religion 529)

Do you know what quality in your life you would most like to see improvement on over the next year? The Lord does not recommend that we take on too many issues at once. He describes very clearly the steps we are to take if we are to improve spiritually.

The question therefore is, How ought a person to repent? And the reply is, Actually; that is to say, he must examine himself, recognize and -knowledge his sins, pray to the Lord, and begin a new life. That without examination repentance is not possible, has been shown in the preceding section. But of what use is examination except that one may recognize his sins? And why should he recognize his sins, except that he may acknowledge that they are in him? And of what use are these three things, except that a person may confess his sins before the Lord, pray for help, and then begin a new life, which is the end sought? This is actual repentance. (True Christian Religion 530)

The Lord wants us to be truly happy. He wants us to have the joy of using the gifts and talents that He has given us to make the world around us a better place to be for others and for ourselves. He has given us His Word to help us learn what we must know if we are to make good decisions and follow the Lord ever more clearly in our lives. We need to learn from the Word and we need to use what we learn to reflect on the patterns in our concerns, thoughts, words, and actions. As we look to a new calendar year, may each of us commit ourselves to the personal work that will help this year be a better year for us and for all those who come in contact with us.

(References: Divine Providence 278 [1-3])

15. By His Suffering of the Cross the Lord Did Not Take Away Sins, but Bore Them

Some people in the church believe that by His suffering of the cross the Lord took away sins and made satisfaction to the Father, and so redeemed mankind.

Some believe, too, that He transferred to Himself the sins of people who have faith in Him, bore them, and cast them into the depths of the sea, that is, into hell.

They confirm these beliefs of theirs by John’s saying in regard to Jesus, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world!” (John 1:29) Also by this declaration in Isaiah:

...He has borne our diseases and carried our sorrows.... He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His wound we are healed.... Jehovah has laid on Him the iniquities of us all.

He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter.... ...He was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of My people they were stricken, that He might deliver the wicked to their tomb and the rich to their deaths....

...By the labor of His soul He shall see [and] be satisfied. By His knowledge He shall justify many, by His bearing their iniquities.... ...He poured out His soul unto death, and He was numbered with the transgressors, and He bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors. (Isaiah 53:1-12)

Both passages have as their subject the Lord’s temptations or trials and His suffering. His taking away sins and diseases and Jehovah’s laying on Him the iniquities of us all have the same meaning as His bearing our sorrows and iniquities.

[2] First, therefore, we must say what bearing our iniquities means, and then what it means to take them away.

To bear iniquities means nothing else than to endure severe temptations or trials, and to allow the Jews to treat Him as they treated the Word. He allowed them to treat Him in the same way because He embodied the Word. For the church which existed at that time among the Jews was completely destroyed, having been destroyed by their perverting everything in the Word, to the point that there was no truth left. Consequently neither did they acknowledge the Lord. This is what is meant and symbolized by everything having to do with the Lord’s suffering.

The prophets were treated similarly, because they represented the Lord in relation to the Word and so to the church, and the Lord was the prophet.

[3] That the Lord was the prophet can be seen from the following passages:

Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own house.” (Matthew 13:57, cf. Mark 6:4, Luke 4:24)

Jesus said:

...it is not right that a prophet perish outside of Jerusalem.” (Luke 13:33)

People called Jesus the prophet from Nazareth (Matthew 21:11, cf. John 7:40-41). Fear seized them all, and they praised God, saying that a great prophet had risen up among them (Luke 7:16). [And we are told] that a prophet would be raised up from among the people’s brethren, whose words the people were to obey (Deuteronomy 18:15-19).

[4] That the prophets were treated similarly is clear from the passages that follow now:

The prophet Isaiah was commanded to represent the state of the church by removing the sackcloth from his loins, taking his sandals off his feet, and going naked and barefoot for three years, as a sign and a wonder (Isaiah 20:2-3).

The prophet Jeremiah was commanded to represent the state of the church by purchasing a sash and putting it around his waist, by not drawing it through water, and by hiding it in a hole in a rock by the Euphrates, which after some days he found to be ruined (Jeremiah 13:1-7).

The same prophet also represented the state of the church by not taking himself a wife in the place where he was, by not entering the house of mourning, by not going off to lament, and by not going into the house of feasting (Jeremiah 16:2, 5, 8).

[5] The prophet Ezekiel was commanded to represent the state of the church by passing a barber’s razor over his head and beard; by then dividing the hair, burning a third in the midst of the city, striking a third with a sword, and scattering a third in the wind; by binding a small number of them in the edges of his garment; and by finally throwing them in the midst of a fire and burning them (Ezekiel 5:1-4).

The same prophet was commanded to represent the state of the church by making containers for departure, by departing to another place in the eyes of the children of Israel, by bringing out the containers by day and digging through a wall at evening and going out through it, and by covering his face so as not to see the ground, so that he was thus a sign to the house of Israel. And by the prophet’s saying, “Behold, I am a sign to you. As I have done, so shall it be done to them.” (Ezekiel 12:3-7, 11)

[6] The prophet Hosea was commanded to represent the state of the church by taking himself a harlot as a wife. He also did take one, and she bore him three children, one of whom he called Jezreel, the second Not-To-Be-Pitied, and the third Not-My-People. (Hosea 1:2-9)

The same prophet was commanded again to go and love a woman who was loved by a companion and who was an adulteress, whom he obtained for himself for fifteen pieces of silver (Hosea 3:1-2).

[7] The prophet Ezekiel was commanded to represent the state of the church by taking a brick and carving “Jerusalem” on it; by then laying siege to it, and putting a wall and mound against it; by setting an iron pan between himself and the city; by lying on his left side for three hundred and ninety days, and then on his right for forty days; by taking wheat, barley, lentils, millet and spelt and making of them bread for himself, which he then ate; and by drinking water by measure. Also by his being commanded to make for himself a barley cake mixed with a stool of human excrement. And because he prayed for it, he was commanded to make it with cow dung. (Ezekiel 4:1-15)

The prophets also represented other things besides, like Zedekiah and the horns of iron he made for himself (1 Kings 22:11). And another prophet by his being struck and wounded, and putting ash on his eyes (1 Kings 20:35, 37-38).

[8] The prophets in general represented the Word in its outermost sense, namely the sense of the letter, by a hair shirt (Zechariah 13:4). Elijah therefore wore such a shirt, and he was girded about the loins with a leather girdle (2 Kings 1:8). John the Baptist was clothed similarly, having a garment of camel hair and a leather girdle about his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey (Matthew 3:4).

It is apparent from this that the prophets represented the state of the church and the Word. For whoever represents one, also represents the other, since the church is founded on the Word, and is a church in accordance with its reception of the Word in its life and faith.

Consequently wherever prophets in either Testament are mentioned, they symbolize the doctrine of the church drawn from the Word. Moreover, the Lord, as the greatest prophet, symbolizes the church itself and the Word itself.