new church life : july / august 2017
overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life , which is in the midst of the Paradise of God .” ( 2:7 )
The Word has been provided by the Lord so that those of us who have an ear , that is , those of us who are willing to hear and obey what the Lord has to teach , will hear what He has to say to the churches , that is , to all those who would follow Him .
Each of those who hear the Word will then face the conflict between the desires of their will and the laws of life set forth by the Lord . To those who hold firm in these temptations , to those who overcome hell , the Lord has promised that they will eat of the tree of life in the midst of the Paradise of God .
The Rev . James P . Cooper is retired and lives with his wife , Karen ( Jorgenson ), in Toronto , Canada . He still preaches occasionally – in Toronto and Caryndale , Ontario , and Dawson Creek , British Columbia . Last year he spent two months in the Westville congregation in South Africa . Prior to retirement he had been pastor of the Olivet Church in Toronto and Regional Pastor for Canada . He had previously served in Bryn Athyn and Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania , the Durban Society in South Africa , and the Washington , D . C . Society in Mitchellville , Maryland . Contact : rev . james . cooper @ gmail . com
OUR NEW CHURCH VOCABULARY Part of a continuing series developed by the Rev . W . Cairns Henderson , 1961-1966 .
LIMBUS
The limbus is a border , drawn from the finest things of nature , which man retains after death to give fixation , stability and permanence to his life in the spiritual world . Because it is natural , even though formed from the purest things of nature , the limbus does not enter the spiritual world , but remains within nature as a basis for man ’ s immortality ; and as his character is impressed upon it , it is the basis for his survival as an individual .
The limbus is also referred to as the cutaneous envelope or border , and the substances which constitute it are the natural substances of the mind . ( See Arcana Coelestia 3293 ; True Christian Religion 103 ; Divine Love and Wisdom 257 , 388e ; Wisdom vii : 7 )
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