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MESSAGE TWENTY-EIGHT
ON SPIRITUAL WARS AND THE METHODS, TACTICS AND WEAPONS USED IN THESE WARS AND HOW THEY RELATE WITH HUMAN EARTHLY WARS
April 28, 1982
The following messages have been received today from the Lord.
During transmission of these messages and in the “Fundamentals of
Human Spirituality” there is frequent mention of a spiritual war.
At this time, it would be beneficial to clarify and to remind oneself
what this spiritual war is all about and to recognize the kinds of tools,
weapons, tactics, methods and means utilized in the waging of this war.
Some of these means are mentioned in Swedenborg’s writings.
Of course, not all these procedures can be revealed at this time. In
fact, most of them are totally incomprehensible to one who is in the
natural degree and in a physical body.
However, some of these methods are so common that one can easily
overlook them without recognizing that they are a part of the ongoing
warfare of the negative forces against the positive ones. This oversight is
dangerous because one easily habituates to such a state of affairs,
considering it to be a normal occurrence of everyday life, not giving too
much attention to it and not making enough of an effort to protect oneself
from continuous attack. In such instances one can find oneself in a
serious predicament of being in the negative state and a part of it.
Now, it is necessary to realize that the initiation, causation and
fueling of spiritual wars is always one-sided. It always comes from the
negative side. The negative state, being a production and fabrication of
the Hells and those who are not in the absolute state and process, has, by
its nature, a tendency to be of temporary duration. But because its
greatest desire and purpose is to acquire a position of eternal
continuation and domination, it needs to take hold in the absolute state
and process in order to accomplish this goal. Only from this position can
it assure its eternal continuation and eventual domination because there
it can become a part of something which cannot be eliminated or
destroyed. However, nothing of the negative state can be in the absolute
condition. Therefore, the negative state, by the very essence and
substance of its nature, is in continuous opposition to such an
arrangement. It opposes the fact that nothing in the negative state can
be in the absolute condition. This opposition appears in the form of
continuous attacks and offensives against anything positive and
anything from the positive. Because of this situation, as long as anything
of the negative state is in activated being and existence, it will always be
motivated to oppose, attack, take offensive and wage a fierce spiritual
war against anything positive.
As far as the positive state is concerned, by its nature of being the
only true reality, it does not need to oppose or to attack anything or
anyone for its position because it always is in its proper and right
position from eternity to eternity and it does not have any need to change
its position. Only the negative state has a continuous need to change its
position to ensure its eternal continuation and domination which it does
not have. The negative state, being artificially fabricated by someone
who was and is not absolute, lacks a true sense of reality. Its reality can
be activated only by someone who from one’s own free will accepts it to be
a true reality. No other mode of existence for the negative state is
possible or feasible. For this reason, the negative state is in a continuous
process of striving to become a true reality of being and existence
independent from the condition of the necessity to be activated by the
process of will and acceptance. Such a striving appears in the form of
continuous attack in order to assert itself and to survive. It must fuel the
wills of people to be accepted as reality. Such a continuous fueling
appears in the form of spiritual battles.
However, the positive state is not dependent on the need to be
activated by the will of anyone because it always is a reality in itself and
by itself being the very nature of the Most High who is not created or
originated from and by anything or anyone. The Most High — thus, the
positive state — is the One Who always is. The negative state is
something that never really is by itself and in itself. It can exist only by
the principles of life stolen from the positive state, activated by the will
and acceptance of someone who was created and initiated by the
Absolute State.
Because of this situation, the positive state can never initiate any
wars, attacks, battles, etc. However, since it is being continuously
attacked by the negative state, it must defend itself, its position and its
creation against the war-hungry and bloodthirsty negative state.
It would be an error to assume that spiritual wars are being waged by
the mechanical tools and weapons which physically kill people on Earth.
No one can or may be killed in the spiritual world. However, as
Swedenborg pointed out from the Lord, whatever happens in the
spiritual world has its consequences and correspondences in the natural
world. In this case the spiritual tools and weapons and spiritual wars
appear in the natural world on planet Earth in their concrete form. Such
wars, of course, are confined to the spiritual world of humans from Earth
and on planet Earth only. So whatever is spiritual in the spiritual world
becomes natural in the natural world. For that reason, on the natural
level of planet Earth, such spiritual wars and spiritual weapons appear
in the form of the natural wars with the mechanical means and natural
weapons for killing and destruction of physical bodies, which is
considered by people to be death. Of course, nobody dies as to one’s spirit
and soul. Only the physical form can be destroyed by such means. But
because people on Earth are in their externals, placing all values of their
lives in externals, and being of the opinion that there is little, if
anything, beside their externals, they believe that they really die and
that by their physical death everything is ended for them. This is, of
course, a false belief imposed upon them by the activated and
domineering negative state with which they identify themselves. By such
an identity, they make it possible for the negative state to be real, giving
it life and energy to continue its spiritual wars.
As far as the situation in the spiritual world is concerned, as
Swedenborg pointed out from the Lord, there the process of spiritual
wars is purely spiritual. But because of the law of correspondences, it is
also manifested by appearances through correspondential means. This
signifies that in the process of such spiritual wars, in the regions and
states where it is in its active mode, it appears as if there is a literal
bloody battle with the use of all kinds of sophisticated weapons, giving
one a sense of this being true reality. However, these are symbolical
pictures and projected fantasies which materialize themselves in such
appearances without having any tangible, solid reality in the form of
matter as it is in the natural degree.
So, if one were to observe such spiritual wars from some distance, one
would observe and experience in actuality a full scale, very sophisticated
battle with all appearances of physical reality (as known on planet
Earth) only in a more sophisticated and complex manner. However, if
one were to come into closer proximity to their region, one would not see
pictures, symbols and appearances; one’s personal experience would be
totally different. One would find oneself being attacked within one’s
spirit and mind by means relevant to the battles of minds.
In order to better understand what is meant by spiritual wars, it
would be useful to enumerate some methods, tactics and weapons
utilized in these wars by the negative state and some defensive methods
utilized by the positive state. As mentioned above, most of these methods
cannot be comprehended by someone who is in the natural degree and
physical body on Earth. Therefore this enumeration is limited only to
those areas of weaponry which are easily understood and discerned by
humans on Earth.
1. All spiritual battles are waged first of all by ideas, thoughts and
concepts. These are spiritual tools and weapons which are in the process
of continuous manifestation.
As it was pointed out in “Fundamentals of Human Spirituality”,
whatever exists exists by its idea, thought and concept. There can be no
existence of anything without an idea of its existence first. Therefore, the
reality of anything is determined by the idea of its reality. If there is no
idea of reality, there is no reality at all.
This spiritual principle of being and existence is utilized by the
negative state to maintain its existence and being, or in other words, to
maintain its reality. This is accomplished by a continuous projection of
ideas, thoughts and concepts of everything negative, adverse and
opposite to love and wisdom, good and truth, and charity and faith, or to
the Most High Who is all positive. By production of such negative ideas,
thoughts and concepts the negative state can maintain its existence.
When all negative forces are gathered for their attack, they all
produce a cumulative effort to project into everyone in the positive state
such negative ideas, thoughts and concepts. The output of this
cumulative effort is of such tremendous proportion and magnitude that if
it were to succeed in reaching one’s mind in its entirety it would
instantly annihilate anything in that mind and half the universe with it
without any traces. The only way anybody might survive such an attack
is by means of the defense system created by the positive state. One has
to remember that the positive state in its totality far outnumbers the
negative state in its totality because the negative state is limited to one
locality only (Hells from humans of Earth and on planet Earth). So the
positive state in its totality counterbalances everything negative by
counterprojecting to all Creation and to everyone involved in that battle
all positive thoughts, ideas and concepts of love, wisdom, good, truth,
charity and faith. The cumulative effect of this output is of such
geometrically multiplied proportions and magnitude that it completely
blocks the destructive effort of the negative state’s ideas, thoughts and
concepts. As a matter of fact, in most instances, the positive state must
temper its output in order not to entirely destroy those who are on the
negative side. One has to continuously remember that the purpose of the
positive state is never destruction of anyone, but instead salvation. The
Most High is Absolute Love and Wisdom. The nature of such love and
wisdom is salvation, preservation and eternal continuation of anyone
who is sentient. The concept of destruction is inconsistent with such a
nature. Moreover, one has consciously to keep in mind the fact that those
who are in the negative state do not need to be in it forever. At one time
or another they can recede from it and join the forces of the positive
state, becoming valuable and well-experienced members. Why would one
rush into destroying someone of this nature?
Only the negative state has a continuous desire, lust and goal to
eternally destroy anyone in the positive state in order to diminish the
number of its participants and bring it to a point of gradual weakness so
that the positive state can eventually be destroyed entirely and the
negative state can take over. Of course, this is an insane and foolish
fantasy, since if such a thing as destruction of the positive state were
possible, nothing else, especially not the negative state, could survive or
exist for one fraction of a second. After all, the negative state lives off the
positive state and its energies (albeit stolen). How else could it survive?
This is the reason all destructive efforts of the negative state are
completely irrational, illogical, insane and futile. But, after all, it is its
true nature to be this way.
As pointed out elsewhere, in the process of the Hell’s existence, the
negative state does not stagnate in its methods for waging war. It is very
“inventive” in its production of all kinds of new ideas, thoughts and
concepts which are increasingly more cunning, sophisticated, complex,
powerful, clever and seemingly more effective.
This corresponds to the physical inventions by humans on Earth of
more sophisticated weapons for physical destruction. The reason people
on Earth can invent such weapons is because of the Hells’ initiation of
such new negative ideas, thoughts and concepts which find their concrete
manifestation on Earth in the natural degree in the form of physical
weapons. People on Earth could invent nothing at all if the ideas for
these inventions did not occur in the spiritual world first. This is true of
anything, not only weapons. For an understanding of this process one is
referred to Swedenborg’s writings and “Fundamentals of Human
Spirituality”.
These weapons and tactics can be compared to nuclear devices,
guided missiles, bombs, tanks, artillery, etc., as they exist on planet
Earth.
The understanding of this fact can give one insight as to why it is so
important to maintain within oneself only positive ideas, thoughts and
concepts, and to reject by all means any negative, adverse and opposing
ideas, etc., projected by the negative state of the Hells. By doing so, one is
evoking within oneself the positive state’s defense system, and one is
contributing to the weakening of the negative state both within oneself
and in the universal sense.
One can say for certain that all other weapons, tactics and methods
being utilized by the negative state in its spiritual wars derive from the
principle described in this point.
2. Methods of persuasion, insinuation, accusation, a sense of
wrongdoing and infusion of guilt, in a cumulative manner, derive from
the above-mentioned weapons.
These negative persuasions are favored and utilized by the negative
forces and correspond, to a certain extent, to the hand carried type of
weapons used on Earth, i.e. automatic rifles, grenades, bazookas, mines,
etc.
The negative state in its cumulative effort continuously projects into
the members of the positive state and into its own members all kinds of
persuasions of a negative nature and a false interpretation of “good and
truth”, such as insinuations as to the possibility that one is in distortions
of good and truth, straight-out accusations of being in the state of
distortions, infusion of a feeling that one is always doing something
terribly wrong and that one should be punished, continuous guilt for
everything happening in one’s “within” and “without”, etc., the list of
which can be endless.
The cunning, sophistication and danger of these tactics lies in the fact
that such negative connotations seem to come from within one’s own
mind and one has a tendency to believe that in actuality one is their
producer and one’s conscience is speaking. If this is so, then this must be
true. Therefore, one feels worthless, good for nothing, and deserving of
misery, suffering, unhappiness and eternal damnation. Of course, there
is no tangible proof that this is from “within”, but a favorite trick of the
negative state is to play the old tune of various religious beliefs that one
is nothing but evil inside and out and there is nothing good and positive
in one’s existence. This common false belief is perpetuated by the
interpreters of the literal sense of the Bible, by misinterpretations of the
writings of Swedenborg, and many others. If one continues in such a
belief, one is inevitably committed to feeling negative thoughts about
oneself which are saturated by an all-pervading guilt, a sense of
wrongdoing, insinuation of not deserving anything good and positive, etc.
These are all weapons of the negative state used for the destruction of
everything positive. Whenever one believes them and accepts them, one
is fueling and supporting the negative state.
The reality of this situation is, however, entirely different. Because
everyone alive has within oneself an Inner Mind (otherwise one could not
live), everyone has within that Inner Mind the presence of the Most
High. In such a presence of the Most High within everyone’s Inner Mind
is the good and truth of one’s existence, regardless of how evil one may
seem outwardly or how much one may seem to identify with evil and
falsity.
It would be a spiritual abomination to claim that everything in the
human mind is evil and false because this would imply that the presence
of the Most High in one’s Inner Mind is also evil and false. The evilness
of one’s state is determined by one’s attitude and position toward that
presence. If one denies the presence of the Most High in one’s Inner
Mind, and/or denies even the existence of the Inner Mind itself, one
identifies oneself with the negative state, opposing the source of
everything positive. This does not mean, however, that such an attitude
and position deprives one of the ability to recede from it. One’s ability to
recede from one’s negative attitude and position toward the presence of
the Most High and one’s ability to accept such a presence constitutes
one’s eternal good and truth. Without such an ability, one could not
survive or even breathe. Therefore, to claim that one is nothing but evil
is an abominable and formidable weapon of the negative state which it
uses in its spiritual wars against the positive state.
It is necessary to correct this commonly accepted distortion resulting
from false interpretation of the literal sense of the Bible, some
statements in Swedenborg’s writings, etc. What is actually meant is that
humans by themselves, without the presence of the Most High in their
Inner Mind, could be nothing but evil. Since the only source of everything
positive is the Most High, lack of His/Her presence in one’s Inner Mind
signifies the lack of anything positive. This would also signify that no one
could be and exist. Again, what is indicated by such literal statements is
the potentiality to become negative. Actually being 100% negative in the
literal sense is an utter impossibility because the withdrawal of the Most
High from one’s Inner Mind would mean instant eternal death.
Therefore, it is not wise to see things in finalistic conditions, states
and processes. To proclaim that man is nothing but evil means to
proclaim that man is absolutely evil. This is a finalistic statement. To be
absolutely evil means to be uncreated and unoriginated; it means that
evil is absolute and always is and, therefore, can never be changed or
abolished. If one is evil in this kind of connotation, nothing can be done
to change one’s state and condition. It also means that there is another
absolute existence besides the Most High. Such statements are mutually
exclusive because logically no two states can exist in an absolute
condition. If they could they would no longer be absolute.
Now, the persuasion used by the negative state as a weapon in their
wars consists in convincing people to believe that the negative state is
absolute by itself and in itself, that it is uncreated and originated in the
Most High, and that people are evil and damned. Why should people try
to be something else if, no matter what they do or believe, the “fact” will
always remain that they are nothing but evil and this is their eternal
destiny? Such a persuasion leads and maintains people in the negative
state, preventing them from believing it is possible for them to be good.
One of the many reasons the Most High incarnated on Earth in the
form of Jesus Christ was to point out to people that they can be good by
accepting the fact of the Most High’s presence in them. He pointed out
that the Father was within Him and that He was in the Father.
Moreover, He pointed out that He is in them and they are in Him. The
acceptance of this fact makes one less and less negative and more and
more oneself, which is positive.
The positive forces in their cumulative effort continuously
counterbalance the methods and tactics of the negative state’s war by
constantly emphasizing the presence of the Most High in everyone’s
Inner Mind, pointing out the potentialities everyone has to be a better
human being and to progress spiritually to eternity, and by reminding
people continuously that insinuations, persuasions, accusations, a sense
of wrongdoing, feelings of guilt, etc., are not from within, as the negative
state wants them to believe, but they are imposed from without by the
negative state, and people can accept or reject them. People are guilty
only to the extent they accept and believe these insinuations and
persuasions about being guilty. No more and no less.
This situation strongly emphasizes the importance of daily self-
exploration and self-examination to determine the source of such
insinuations, persuasions, sense of wrongdoing, guilt, etc. In this way one
is able to disassociate oneself from any such impositions and to stop
believing they are coming from within oneself.
Again, with the history of the negative state and its wars, these
weapons become more and more sophisticated, cunning, credible and
effective. But so did the defensive weapons of the positive state.
3. The third favorite weapon utilized by the negative state in its
spiritual wars against the positive state is to infuse and implant in
people doubts, suspicions, confusions, perplexities, uncertainties,
insecurities, hesitations, procrastinations, fears, unsafety, etc. These
weapons can be compared with various small caliber firearms which are
of a more personal nature, usually for self-defense in human terms.
These tactics keep everyone in a constant state of doubt and suspicion
regarding oneself, one’s ideas, accomplishments, spirituality, the
existence of God, etc., bringing into people’s lives confusion, perplexity,
uncertainty, hesitation, procrastination, etc., and denying them a sense
of stability, security and safety.
Such ways of infusing and implanting these conditions in people’s
minds have become more and more sophisticated, cunning, up-to-date
and credible. If there were not a continuous cumulative counterbalancing
effort from and protection by the positive state, most people would
succumb to this condition and become an easy prey for the negative state.
The positive state continuously transmits into people’s minds, in a
manifoldly intensified manner, a sense of certainty, protection, trust,
faith, confidence, security, safety, constancy and all other positive
feelings and attitudes which totally undermine the tremendous effort of
the negative state to flood spirits, souls and bodies with negative
attitudes and feelings.
Again, one is advised to carefully examine the source of one’s doubts,
confusions, uncertainties, etc., and disassociate oneself from them,
recognizing they are shots being continuously fired in the process of
these spiritual wars. By doing so, one transforms these shots into
harmless nudges incapable of harm. One summons one’s Inner Mind for
help and asks the Most High to build a permanent shield of spiritual
certainty against such attacks.
4. The fourth weapon utilized by the negative state in its spiritual
wars against the positive forces is a continuous attempt, in a cumulative
manner, to flood the human spirit, soul and body with desires, wishes,
wants and intentions of a negative nature, such as, for example, wanting
to do something hurtful and harmful to oneself and others.
This weapon can be compared to daggers, knives, stilettos, etc., which
can be as deadly as any armaments of the negative state because they
are used in stealth, silence and darkness.
The purpose is to keep everyone in a constant condition of wanting,
desiring and intending something negative, deceitful, selfish,
inconsiderate, impulsive, compulsive, irrational, illogical, etc., keeping
people from thinking logically and rationally and causing them to strike
out without any apparent reason in a compulsive and impulsive manner.
The positive forces, on the other hand, in their cumulative effort, are
continuously projecting into people’s minds positive, good, loving, kind
and wise desires, wishes, wants, intentions, etc., which counterbalance
the negative ones to the point of blunting them, incapacitating them and
preventing their total success. They support logic, reason and rationality,
thereby controlling impulsive, illogical, irrational, hurtful and harmful
behaviors and actions.
In this case also one is advised to explore the source of such negative
desires, wishes, wants, tendencies, etc., and to countermand them with
positive will, desires, wishes, wants and tendencies to be loving, wise,
understanding, kind, rational, logical and patient. This is one of the best
defensive weapons one can have against the forces of the negative state.
5. Finally, the fifth weapon of the negative state in its spiritual wars
against the positive forces is the production, inculcation and
maintenance of negative emotions such as fear, anxiety, worry, anger,
hostility and violence in the human spirit, soul and body. Here also
belongs the fear of death and eternal damnation stemming from faulty
religious beliefs. Very often numerous religions are produced and
fabricated in the Hells and continuously transmitted to all regions of
human existence to keep people in such fears, anxieties, worries,
obedience and blindness, all in the name of God.
This is one of the most favorite weapons of the negative state (the
production of various forms of religions and their foolish doctrines), and
it can be formidable and deadly.
In human earthly terms this weapon can be compared to
sophisticated hand combat weapons, when one swift blow of the hand can
kill instantaneously.
Of course, the training, use and application of this weapon became
more and more sophisticated, effective and credible. The only reason
people still live and are alive is because of the counterbalance and
counter-projection of the cumulative effort of all positive forces into
spirits, souls and bodies of humans of positive feelings and emotions of
joy, happiness, contentment, satisfaction, delight, pleasure, peace,
serenity, tranquility, conciliation, tolerance, principles of spiritual
homogeneity of religions and similar positive feelings. They repel any
possibility of negative feelings permanently taking hold and causing one
damage which would have an eternal effect.
So, whatever new weapons and tactics the negative state originates,
they are instantly counterbalanced by the positive state’s efforts to
produce new defensive weapons which neutralize any permanent effect of
the offensive weapons.
As far as this situation is concerned, one is again advised to
disassociate oneself from the negative feelings and to countermand them
with positive feelings in the moment of their attack. If one consistently
does this, time periods between attacks by negative forces are prolonged
until the time occurs when they are either infrequent or easily warded off
without any permanent damage to one’s spiritual, mental, emotional,
volitional, intellectual and physical stability. In this way one helps in the
final defeat of the negative state.
These are some of the weapons which are used in the spiritual wars.
By comparing them with the physical weapons of humans on Earth,
which are originated from their ideas in the spiritual world, one can
comprehend to a certain extent how they work and how one can do
anything in one’s power from one’s Inner Mind and the presence of the
Most High in it to neutralize them and make them harmless.
As was mentioned previously, the most recent spiritual war in the
spiritual world ended with the loss of all the negative state’s positions
and influences there. They were driven back into their Hells where they
are now preparing for another war with more formidable weapons, etc.,
to be fought this time on the natural level (their last stronghold).
One can be assured that if one follows the principles of life and
spirituality, as revealed in “Fundamentals of Human Spirituality” and
throughout these “Messages From Within”, one will be protected and
safeguarded by the Most High from any hurt, harm and/or consequence
of that war. Nothing adverse can happen to such a person. As long as one
follows these principles from one’s free will and by one’s freedom of
choice, one is secured in an eternal position in the positive state and
spiritual progression.
This is all for today.
Source: MESSAGE FROM WITHIN
