The Advent of Dionysus / The Marriage / 3.01

The Marriage Relationship

As I see it there are six elements that culminate into the marriage relationship, which as I'll show, correlate equally well with the six churches on earth. These are the corresponding masculine and feminine qualities, brought into the relationship by the respective bridegroom and bride. The first four can be viewed as the couple's parents—or in-laws—with the bridegroom and bride constituting the fifth and sixth elements. And, as we're not the total by products of what our parents have instilled in us, they can be viewed collectively or, in a spiritual sense (as composites).

Both men and women have these tendencies, which have been nurtured by each of our parents. And, as shown by our left and right brains, the two receptacles of this, they tend to balance each other out. The masculine, which predominates in the man (qualities of his father here), represents the rational or intellectual side, which is also the understanding. The feminine, which predominates in the woman (qualities of her mother here), is what makes her a woman, and is the reciprocal of the masculine: the emotional or feeling aspect or, the will.

In this respect men and women are opposite human beings, as they approach each other from opposite ends of the spectrum. They aren't diametrically opposed though—or at least they shouldn't be!—for they were meant to be actual reciprocals, ruled by their predominant tendencies, in a state of balance with their lessor tendencies. And here, once a suitable pair is found, they become united—in marriage—and come together as a whole: "And the two shall become one flesh."

Genesis 2:24

When this occurs, although rare in earthly marriages, the two become—one human being (how it's commonly expressed in heaven). Which is best exemplified by the sperm striking the ovum to form the zygote, the two opposite organisms coming together to form a new one, as fertilization occurs. Whereas the zygote goes on to develop into a baby, to form a new human being or, half a human being. And so it is the birth of a child signifies a true testament to the consummation of marriage which, in the spiritual sense, signifies the birth of new doctrine (more so a boy child): the embodiment of faith or understanding, regarding this pact between God and The Church or, Husband and Wife. For an account of my own experience here, please refer to chapter 5.

Six Elements of Marriage

5 The six elements of marriage are listed as follows:

1) The man's intellect: the masculine aspect of the man or his spiritual father.

2) The man's will: the feminine aspect of the man or his spiritual mother.

3) The woman's intellect: the masculine aspect of the woman or her spiritual father.

4) The woman's will: the feminine aspect of the woman or her spiritual mother.

5) The man himself: the understanding in the relationship or the spiritual husband.

6) The woman herself: the will in the relationship or the spiritual wife.

Once these elements have been established, they culminate into a seventh state, a state of coalescence or, the marriage itself. There's also an eighth and ninth state, which correspond to the honeymoon (the 8th) and the life thereafter (the 9th). These two, along with the seventh, correspond to the numbers 21, 22 and 23, as detailed in the last chapter. I'll be addressing this, along with the six elements and their number correspondents, further in chapter 4 and chapter 6.

The Six Churches

7	As we're speaking of The Church of Man here, more specifically The Marriage of Heaven and Earth, it seems logical to conclude a correlation with the elements of marriage. You can determine for yourself in what follows:

The first church was the Church of Adam and his progeny, and corresponds to the development of the man's intellect or, his father. As the story goes, Adam fell to the earth through his eating of the tree of knowledge (through his intellect); hence, the truth descends. And being the first of the human inhabitants, he was to go through many trials, as to develop an intimate knowledge of who his father really was. In Adam's case it was God, The Father Himself, which is why the first church concerns the man's intellect.

The second church was the Church of Noah and his progeny, and corresponds to the development of the man's will or, his mother. As we've been told, Noah built the ark and was delivered of the great flood. And being the obedient one, his obedience would have corresponded to his affection, which is of one's will—hence, the emotional or feeling aspect. Whereas water is typically called the woman's element, and can be viewed correspondently with her will. This is her strength, much in the way the man's intellect is his strength. Therefore, as Noah was delivered of the flood by mother earth herself—signifying the will of his mother—the second church concerns the man's will.

The third church coincided most with the Israelite Church, beginning with the birth of that nation in the wilderness, more specifically the expulsion of the nations of the land of Canaan. A church of representatives, by which truth culminated in symbolic form, it corresponds to the development of the woman's intellect or, her father.

Where the woman herself signifies what is good, which is of the will or affection, the man signifies what is of truth, or the understanding. But, as good can't exist except that it coheres to what is truthful, and conversely, truth can't exist except that it coheres to what is good, it's appropriate for a woman to align herself with the truth. This is accomplished through her intellect, which is of her understanding. And, once it occurs, the truth becomes culminated in her, and she becomes the true embodiment of good: her intellect serving as a vessel through which justice is truly cultivated.

The fourth church on earth was the Christian Church, and corresponds to the development of the woman's will or, her mother. As Christ was born of a virgin, which I need not try and dispute, it can be said He was born from the purity of a woman's will (hence, the woman's seed). And as He was without sin, it's clear this church concerns the good of the will which, is good itself. And, as the Christian Church stems from the Israelite Church, it was appropriate for Him to be born within the domain of Israel: thus signifying the alignment of the woman's will to the woman's intellect (43).

The fifth church was instituted in the latter part of the 1700's, through the work of Emanuel Swedenborg. A scientist, with the gifts of a mystic, Swedenborg took untold journeys into the spiritual realm. And it was given to him to conduct an extensive examination, as to the nature of Holy Scripture and, the nature of life beyond the grave. The main thrust of his research concerned the Heavenly Marriage, more specifically, The Marriage of Good to Truth.

Hence it corresponds to the development of the "man's understanding," regarding marriage (the bridegroom), what Swedenborg calls the crown of the four preceding churches. And when viewed in this context, it concerns courtship practices and the searching for a prospective spouse (i.e., Swedenborg was single). While including everything leading up to, and including the marriage proposal, and its acceptance by the prospective bride.

The sixth church concerns what's happening currently, in today's world, and is to be moded in many ways after Dionysus, the Greek god of wine. This is where the name Dennis comes from, much in the way Emanuel (Swedenborg) is synonymous with the name of Christ. And, as the Christian Church was initially established in Greece, and Christ was considered the bridegroom, and the church itself the bride—though this wasn't thoroughly established until Swedenborg's day—it's appropriate to view what is Greek in origin, in terms of the bride. Hence I draw the correlation to Dionysus, who in many ways led a life comparable to Christ; whereas he was often taken as a second or "spiritual husband," by many a Greek woman.

And so Today's Church concerns the development of the woman's will, regarding marriage (the bride to be) and, can be viewed as the engagement period prior to marriage. I might add that it can only be accomplished through the emancipation of the woman's will, which is clearly indicative of today: in no other period of history has the woman been allowed to exercise her free will, in such an extensive fashion. Thus corresponding to that bastion of modern Democracy, and very fulfillment of Greece, where Democracy itself was born, the United States.

Further 230 Theory

Now when considering what happens when fertilization occurs, the notion of the first four churches occurring within 2,300 year periods is further illustrated. For each parent contributes 23 chromosomes to their new offspring, which receives 46 altogether. Hence the bridegroom receives 46 chromosomes from his parents (i.e., 4,600 years), and the bride receives 46 chromosomes from her parents (another 4,600 years). And when they marry, they each pass on 23 chromosomes to their children.

While generally speaking, it takes a man considerably less time to find a woman he wishes to marry, and much less time than that to serve the engagement period (these periods corresponding to the fifth and sixth churches), than it takes to develop the four previous elements of marriage or, "prior churches." Hence the accounting of the 2,300 years; to the 230 years; to the 23 years (i.e., from the fourth to the seventh church). Whereas when taken a step further, the eighth and ninth church (the wedding night and life thereafter) will occur within the next two-and-a-half years: the focus remaining on the seventh church, as it signifies the "marriage itself." And as Swedenborg says, the number seven signifies what is "holy and complete."

I might add that the transition to the sixth church has occurred in my lifetime, and that the transition to the seventh church—as well as the eighth and ninth—will likely occur also. For we're speaking of "the bride" who's been selected, at the end of the fifth church, and the following engagement period, the sixth church, which culminates into the marriage—or, seventh church.