04 June 2024
The heart is a distinct facility in the human soul, separate from the intellect. The literal organ is not just a blood pump, but a sensory organ. Scientists have discovered a magnetic field emanating from the heart, along with an unreadable, but very obvious, interaction with external life forms. But the Bible's reference to the "heart" generally symbolizes a faculty far above the brain. It is regarded as the seat of the will, the part of you where faith resides, your sense of commitment. It is also the seat of conviction.
The heart can discern the Unseen Realm directly. If the heart is disconnected from the spirit (the spirit is still dead), then the heart will not correctly understand what it senses, but it will sense things there. If your spirit is awakened, then it will interpret accurately what the heart senses. Keep in mind: All humans have this capability in their hearts. That's where pagan religion comes from. But the Elect will have the Creator's guidance once they are spiritually awakened.
The mind will incorrectly understand spiritual and moral truth. Those matters belong in the higher realm, and the brain cannot grasp the nature of such things. But in its arrogance, the fleshly mind assumes it can. The result is that the intellect turns things like Scripture into a very false reading.
From this week's Radix Fidem Bible lesson: "The whole idea of these demonic teachings was to trap people's minds on this plane, causing them to mystify the higher plane so that it remained out of reach, subject to fables and man-made legends." This is how western mysticism works; it presents itself as a higher level of intellectual reasoning. It is not at all the same as biblical mysticism, which is a matter of the heart feeding truth to the brain.
It is a matter of discipline for the fleshly mind to submit and obey the moral truth fed from the heart. This is where we get the image of strength in conviction. Can your convictions overpower the resistance of your flesh? Are you willing to sacrifice some desire of the flesh to attain a higher purpose? Your conscious awareness is capable of deciding to follow the Spirit's guidance in your heart.
Here's another odd fact: The West is the first, and only, civilization in history to ignore the heart. Every previous civilization based their culture on the assumptions that the heart is as described above. For this reason, it is guaranteed that every western examination of previous cultures and civilizations will always be misguided. Our entire civilization not only ignores the heart, but bluntly denies the meaning it has in the Bible.
I'm not saying that the heart is all good. It can be evil and turn away from God; it can become committed to lies. But I'm saying that it is essential to understanding the Bible and to knowing God. You cannot hope to grasp the nature of the Unseen Realm, nor can you know God, if your heart does not lead your life.
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