The Nature of the Human Being. Jakob Lorber.

Revelation by Jakob Lorber, the Prophet.

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The Nature of the Human Being

    A human being is begotten, born, grows up, develops, lives his life in a particular way, and finally dies, sometimes directly after conception. This is a progression that we all know. This visible and palpable human being is not the complete individual man, but rather a material shell, and it is directed by the energetic soul invisible to us. For the essence of man is not just matter but is mainly spirit and soul.

    This soul belongs to a higher and more energetic level of being than the material. It is not visible, palpable, or measureable for it is composed of pure energy and is free of matter. This can be compared to a thought, which cannot be weighed or photographed, although it certainly exists. The energetic soul consists of pure energy atoms and looks just like the healthy body. It has all its limbs and is indestructible. If, for instance, the body loses a foot from an accident, the soul does not lose its energetic foot!

    We can imagine the relationship between body and soul as that between clothing and the body. If the body moves, the clothing moves as well. But nobody maintains that the clothing has its own life. If the body takes off the clothing, the clothing lies there without moving- just as the body is motionless when the soul sheds the body.

    Other examples for the interaction of body and soul are the astronaut in his space suit and the diver in his diving suit. Both suits are a means to an end which allow the person enclosed to work in a medium otherwise not accessible.

    So the body is the present material shell of the soul. Man is a being with three parts nestled within several levels of being. And the body is a wonderful biological machine, a servant or tool of the soul.

    What is missing from this three-part being is the primary higher energetic spirit affecting body and soul and penetrating everything (this is not the brain). It belongs to a higher energetic level of being than the soul, which we have in common with animals. This higher energetic spirit represents our everyday ego consciousness and distinguishes us from every animal. Before birth, this higher energetic spirit is placed into the heart of a person's soul. Externally, the affiliation of body, soul and spirit is characterized by the face. The body and soul are developed by nourishment. The soul absorbs its appropriate noble elements and the body the material elements. So the spirit is nourished by a spiritual food. This is the teaching of Jesus, who sums it up this way:

    Love God, whom you do not see with material eyes, preferably in your poor neighbour, through action. Become modest and active for the good, gentle, merciful and patient. Do not seek honour with men and give up thoughts of short-term advantage and greediness. Treat your neighbours as you, viewed reasonably, would like to be treated yourself. Keep a tight rein on sensual pleasure. Every craving for pleasure (unchastity) is self-love and egoism. Flaws in the human condition pull down our spirit and soul toward matter and move us further from God and his purely spiritual heavens!

    Through humility, the active Christianity of the deed, and a life free of hedonism (chaste), the spirit (everyday-ego-consciousness) and the soul will be permeated and fulfilled with the pure Holy Spirit of God; gradually, the spiritual rebirth and childhood of God will be reached and attained.

Here some examples on the nature of man explained by Jesus:

Jesus explains the functions of spirit, soul and body

    [Great Gospel of John GGJ.08_24.06] You see, man has been created totally in God's image, and whoever wants to know himself completely must realize that as one and the same human being he actually also consists of three personalities. You firstly have a body, provided of all the necessary sense organs and other parts of the body, from very big to hardly unimaginably small, which are necessary for a free and independent life. This body has, for the benefit of the development of the spiritual soul its own very natural life within that is different in every respect from the spiritual life of the soul. The body lives on material food of which the blood and the other nutritious juices are formed for the different parts of the body.

    [7] The heart has a special living mechanism of its own within by which it continuously has to expand and then contract again. By that, the blood that makes the body alive together with the other juices that are made from it will be pumped to all parts of the body. And by its contracting movement the heart will assimilate the blood again to saturate it with new nutritious foods and then pump it out again in order to feed the most various parts of the body. In these numerous and most divergent parts of the body an equal number of different nature spirits are living within, which are extracting from the blood those substances that serve the purpose and which are necessary for the nutrition and the maintenance of that part of the body that is controlled by such a spirit. Then they are assimilated into the parts of the body that are controlled by them, that means by the very spirits. In this way they are making the body more powerful and stronger, and without this continuous activity of the heart, man - as far as his body is concerned - would not be able to stay alive for 1 hour.

    [8] Look, with this activity of life, the soul has nothing to do with it, because this activity has no connection with the free will of the soul, no more than with the very activity of the lungs, the liver, the spleen, the stomach, the intestines, the kidneys, and so much more countless parts of his body. The soul does not know these at all and he also cannot care for it. Nevertheless, the body is as a complete separate personality one and the same human being, and does and acts as if the two were totally the same personality. But then, who of you can say that the body and the soul are one and the same thing?

    [9] If we consider now only the soul, then we will see that also he is in himself entirely a complete human being who has substantially spiritually also in himself and for the benefit of himself precisely the same parts as the body, and in a higher, spiritual respect he is using them just like the body is using his material parts.

    [10] Now although the body on the one hand and the soul on the other hand represent two totally different human beings or persons, of who each has his own individual activity, they finally cannot even understand the how and why of those activities, and they are in the light of the actual purpose of life nevertheless only one human being. Consequently nobody can claim neither of himself nor of anybody else that he is not an individual but a twofold human being, because the body must serve the soul, and this one, with his reason and will, must serve the body. And consequently, the soul is equally responsible for the acts for which he has made use of the body, as well as for his very own acts that exist of all kinds of thoughts, wishes, desires and lusts.

    [11] When we however consider more in detail the life of the soul as such, we soon will discover that also he is a substantial bodily being, who in himself stands not much higher than at best for instance the soul of an ape. Although he possesses an instinctive thinking-faculty of a somewhat higher level than a simple animal, an intellect and a higher free opinion about certain things and their interrelation would be out of the question.

    [12] This higher potential in the soul that is in fact the highest and equal to God comes from a pure essential, spiritual, third man who lives in the soul. Through him, he can distinguish that which is true from the false and that which is good from the evil, and is able to think freely in all imaginable directions and is able to will in complete freedom. As he - supported by the spirit - will direct himself with his free will towards that which is purely true and good, he slowly in the same proportion will make himself completely equal with the spirit who lives in him. Thus: strong, powerful and wise, and is then identical with him, as being reborn in the spirit.

    [13] When this is the case, the soul is as good as one being with his spirit, just as the more noble parts of a perfect soul - which in fact exist of the very different nature spirits in the body - will completely change into the spiritual substantial body, which you can call the flesh of the soul, and finally will also change into the essential body of the spirit under which the true resurrection of the flesh has to be understood on the youngest, most true day of the life of the soul, that begins when a man is completely reborn in the spirit, be it already here in this life or - what will cost some more trouble and time - in the beyond.

    [14] Even though a completely reborn man in the spirit is only one perfect human being, his being exists nevertheless in himself eternally out of a well distinguishable trinity.

    [15] How this is possible, I will explain very clearly to you. So listen carefully.

The activity of the three bodies of man

    [GGJ.08.025.01] (The Lord:) If you just are a little observant, you will notice that with everything and every object there is a distinguishable three fold: What will strike the eye first is of course the outer form, for without this no entity and no object could be imagined and could also not have any existence. And when the first exists, the second one is of course the content of the existent things and objects, for without this, they also could not exist and they also could not have any form or outer shape. Now what is the third, which is as necessary for the existence of a thing or object as the first and the second one? Look, that is an inner power in every thing or object that keeps the content of the thing or object thoroughly together and which forms their actual being. And since this power consists of the content and consequently also of the outer form of the things and objects, it is also the original being of all existence, no matter of what kind its nature may be. And without this power, the existence of a being or thing or object would be quite as unimaginable as without content and without an outer form.

    [2] You can see now that the mentioned 3 parts are as such easy to be distinguished, since the outer form is not its content and the content is not its inherent power. And still, the 3 mentioned parts are completely one, because if there would be no power, there would be no content and certainly also no form.

    [3] Now let us go back to our soul. The soul must, because of a sure and certain existence, have an outer form, namely that of a human being. Consequently, the outer form is that which we call the body or also the flesh, be it still material or spiritualized substantial, no matter how.

    [4] Now when the soul - as far as his form is concerned - consists of a human being, he also will have together with the form his corresponding content. This content, or the inner body of the soul, is his very own being, therefore, the soul.

    [5] And if all this is present, then there will be also the power that consists of the whole soul. And this is the spirit which finally is everything in everything, since without this spirit it would be impossible to have a solid substance, and without this also no body and consequently also no outer form.

    [6] Although the 3 distinguishable personalities are as a whole only one being, they still have to be mentioned and distinguished each one of them separately.

    [7] In the spirit, or the eternal essence, lives love, as the all-accomplishing power, the highest intelligence and living firm will. All this together brings about the substance of the soul and gives him his form or being of the body.

    [8] Thus, once the soul or the human being is present - according to the will and the intelligence of the spirit - the spirit withdraws itself deep into the center and gives the now existing soul according to its deepest inner will and intelligence a free will that is as it were separated from it, and a free, as it were independent intelligence that the soul can, partly by his outer sense-organs and partly by an inner capability of perception acquire to himself and perfect it as if it would be completely the very own work of this completely free intelligence.     [9] As a result of this condition that is formed by necessity in which he feels as it were separated from his spirit, the soul is capable to receive an outer as well as an inner revelation. If he receives it, accepts and acts according to it, he will also by that become one with his spirit and therefore will more and more come to the unlimited freedom of the spirit, not only with regard to the intelligence and the freedom of will according to this enlightened intelligence, but also in the power and the might to accomplish everything whatever he recognizes and wills.

    [10] Again, from this you can see that the soul - as the thought of the spirit that has changed into living substance, which is actually the spirit itself - can still in a certain way be considered as something that came forth as second from the spirit, without being something else, except the spirit itself.

    [11] The fact that finally the soul becomes visible as an individual, clothed with an outer body that in a certain way appears as a third personality, is shown to you by daily experience. The body is for the soul an outer revelation of his deep inner spirit and has the purpose of turning the intelligence and the free will of the soul inside out, limit it, and only from then on search and find the inner limitlessness of the intelligence, of the will and its true power, and by that, as an infinite glorified and completely independent individual to become one with the inner spirit, which is the only thing that really exists in the human being.

The influence of the spirits during the creation of human beings

    [Earth and Moon - EM.01_050,01] You have been told that much about the nature of man, his soul and spirit so that you know almost all concerning his entire nature. You have also been shown the details of procreation so that all that remains to show you is the role of the spirits active at procreation.

    [2] There is very little difference between the procreation of a human being and that of an animal.

    [3]The soul of a human being must be completely in existence. This means that it must unite all such substantial specifics as are dispersed throughout the whole Universe and these must be supplied to it from all sides. The soul is such a compendium of complete substantial specifics, a unification of the substantial specifics.

    [4]The specifics in the soul, however, are mixed, so that it might be said that, before procreation, the soul is a snarl that must be disentangled in order that she may acquire her specified form. This disentanglement begins with the progenitive act, because it is there that the soul-snarl is placed in the mother's womb and enveloped.

    [5] Within this shell or envelope the intelligences that correspond with one another begin to approach and hold onto one another. The spirits provide them with the light in their shell so that they may accomplish this task. The substantial specific intelligences recognize one another in this light, segregate, take hold of one another, and unite. All this occurs at the urgent request of the spirits' will, which are entrusted with the supervision. These spirits are what you would call "guardian spirits." Angels and higher angels will also exert their influence. Every human being has at least three guardian spirits, two angels and one higher angel; and above these watches a seventh, which you know well.

    [6] From the moment of procreation, these guardian spirits and angels arrange themselves around the new soul, and care incessantly for the soul's orderly development.

    [7] Once the soul, in her shell, has attained human form, the mother's womb will supply her with the corresponding specifics. The soul employs these specifics to bind her intelligences together more firmly.

    [8] When it has been accomplished, other specifics flow from the mother's womb to the place of the new incarnation, and are already employed for the formation of the nerves. The nerves are like cords and strings which are seized and used by the soul to cause the body to make using exactly these cords and strings for all possible movement.

    [9] As soon as these tasks have been accomplished in both structure and connections, new specifics flow in. The new specifics are placed in order for the formation of the viscera. When the main viscera, with their most important organs, are developed, they are then connected with the main nerves.

    [10] With the addition of other specifics, the entire formation of the viscera will be completed. Most of the nerves come together in the head, mainly at the back of the head, where the soul also has her head. This is why the formation of the viscera begins with that of the head. The head is the picture corresponding most to the soul, because the entire intelligence of the soul concentrates itself through particular emanations in the head. And since the intelligence mirrors itself in its most complete form in the eyes, it may be best recognized there. All the emanations of the individual intelligences of the soul flow into the eyes, and therewith form their natural power of sight. And through the power of sight the eyes can form the outer world within themselves.

    [11] When the soul is finished with this work through the will of the spirits, new specifics are fed to it; from these, various things of the human body are arranged. There is no need to work or make anything - the matter takes care of itself once the path to order is shown. And thus flesh, cartilage, muscles, veins and bones are arranged. What belongs to one and the same takes hold of itself. But the direction and the form would not be appropriate, if the spirits had not sketched out the right path with their wise force of will. This can happen if the mother carrying a child allows her mind to follow a path to hell. In this case, the good spirits and angels cannot provide working company. The consequence of such evil is usually a miscarriage or an insertion from hell, which results in what is commonly called a "changeling". It is recommended that every mother keeps in line with Christian virtues during pregnancy.

Further Hints for the Soul

    The capacities of a complete soul seem so unusual for us humans today, that we can hardly believe them. And yet, through Jakob Lorber, Jesus has described how great capabilities are created in us human beings; however, through our turning away from God's commands, they are often lost. You can find examples of significant capacities in volume 4 of the Gospel of John in Chapters 210 to 213. Further examples are in God's Household, Volume 1, chapters 10 to 13.

    The origin of the fantastic capabilities of a soul is connected with the sphere of our outer life, which is described in Volume 4 of John's Gospel (Chapter 222: The Meaning of the Soul's Sphere of Outer Life). It is also connected with the formation of our brain. See chapter 7: How the brain can be improved.

    The form of the soul after the death of the body depends on earthly life. Here is an example from the original text:

    [Er.01-053,05] A soul, which has experienced time on earth through such a way of life that is not written in the radiant paragraphs of the book of life or one that is not sufficiently skilled according to the gospel in all its parts appears in the spiritual world in diverse forms, which extend back to the most terrible animal forms. The reason is that, throughout its earthly life, the soul has wasted a part of the specifics needed for its perfection. After the separation of the soul from the body, these are no longer there; so the form of the soul outside the body must be highly imperfect. Quite a few souls incline too much toward one or the other sensual being. This way, they obtain an excess of the specifics no longer suitable and needed for their being. As soon as they are out of the body, such souls get a number of unusual and often gruesome outgrows in the spiritual world. Because it is an animal property they show for example: Prop heads, antlers or horns. Immoral men, who occupy themselves with female genitals, abound in these over their whole being. Reversely, the female sex is covered with male organs (membris virilibus).

In order to facilitate an entry into the wealth of the new Revelation by Jesus to the prophet Jacob Lorber, I briefly describe here a selected number of topics, provided with text excerpts.

The Nature of the Human Being. Jakob Lorber.

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