AC 5173 - an inward active force

AC 5173 [2 & 3]
... the truth is that in all and each of the things of nature
and her three kingdoms
there is an inward active force from the spiritual world;
and unless this were so,
nothing whatever in the natural world could act as cause and effect,
and consequently nothing could be produced.
... for to think and will is spiritual,
and to act and be moved is natural.

AC 5159 - one who is being regenerated

AC 5159 [3]
... loves the things of the body and also the things of the world,
but for a higher or more interior end;
for he loves the things of the body
with the end of having a sound mind in a sound body,
and he loves his mind and its soundness with an end still more interior -
that he may be wise in good and understand truth.

AC 5147 [5] - food

AC 5147 [5]
That "food" in the spiritual sense is good,
the Lord plainly teaches in John 6:27: --

Labor not for the food that perishes,
but for the food that abides into life eternal,
which the Son of man shall give to you.

AC 5149 - falsity comes from two origins

AC 5149 [2]
There is falsity from two origins -
falsity of doctrine, and falsity of evil.
Falsity of doctrine does not consume goods,
for a person may be in falsity of doctrine, and yet in good,
and therefore people of every doctrine, even Gentiles, are saved;
but the falsity of evil is that which consumes goods.
Evil in itself is opposite to good,
yet by itself it does not consume goods, but by means of falsity,
for falsity attacks the truths which belong to good,
because truths are as it were outworks that encompass good.
These outworks are assaulted by means of falsity,
and when these are assaulted, good is given to destruction.

AC 5144, 5145, & 5147 - the degrees in us that the Lord flows into

AC 5144 [2]
Into the inmost there flows good from the Lord,
and this through the rational into the interior natural,
and so into the exterior natural or sensuous,
in a distinct succession, as by the steps of a ladder;
and in each degree it is qualified according to the reception.

AC 5145 [2]
Man's interiors are distinguished into degrees,
and in each degree the interiors are terminated,
and by termination are separated from the degree next below;
it is thus from the inmost to the outermost.
The interior rational constitutes the first degree;
in this are the celestial angels,
or in this is the inmost or third heaven.
The exterior rational makes the second degree;
in this are the spiritual angels,
or in this is the middle or second heaven.
The interior natural makes the third degree;
in this are good spirits, or the ultimate or first heaven.
The exterior natural, or the sensuous, makes the fourth degree;
and in this is man.

AC 5447
For good from the Lord flows in through man's inmost,
and so through degrees as by the steps of a ladder to the exteriors;
for the inmost is relatively in the most perfect state,
and therefore can receive good immediately from the Lord;
but not so the lower things.
If these were to receive good from the Lord immediately,
they would either obscure it or pervert it,
for they are relatively more imperfect.

AC 5133 - What is the interior natural? the exterior natural?

AC 5133
The interior natural is that which receives ideas of truth and good from the rational, and stores them up for use, consequently which communicates immediately with the rational;
the the exterior natural is that which receives images and so ideas of things from the world through the senses.

AC 5127 - how Divine light can be received

AC 5127 [3]
The Lord's Divine flows in continually with a person and enlightens him,
but where there are falsities and evils
(that is, where there are things contrary to truths and goods),
the Divine light is either reflected or suffocated or perverted,
and only so much of it is received, as it were through chinks,
as to give him the faculty of thinking and speaking from sensuous things.

AC 5120 - the Holy Supper

AC 5120 [5]
... the Holy Supper was instituted to represent and signify the Lord's love toward the whole human race, and the reciprocal love of man toward Him.

AC 5115 - the regenerate person is like a tree

AC 5115 [2]
... the person who is being born anew, that is,
who is being regenerated by the Lord, who is called a heaven;
for he is then implanted in the Divine good and truth
which are from the Lord, and consequently in heaven.
For the person who is being reborn begins like a tree from seed
(and therefore the truth which is from good is signified by "seed" in the Word);
and also like a tree he produces leaves, then blossoms, and finally fruit;
for he produces such things as are of intelligence,
which in the Word are signified by "leaves,"
then such things as are of wisdom,
which are signified by "blossoms,"
and finally such things as are of life, that is,
the goods of love and charity in act,
which in the Word are signified by "fruits."

AC 5114 - the intellectual part

AC 5114
The intellectual part in general is the sight of the internal person,
which sees from the light of heaven, which is from the Lord,
and all that it sees is spiritual and celestial.

AC 5094 - the rational natural person and the sensual person

AC 5094 [3]
... the rational natural person can comprehend that a person does not live from himself, but by an influx of life through heaven from the Lord;
but the sensuous person cannot comprehend this, for he says that he plainly feels and perceives that life is in himself, and that it is idle to speak contrary to the evidence of the senses.

... the rational natural person comprehends that there is a heaven and a hell,
whereas the sensuous person denies this, because he does not apprehend that there is any purer world than that which he sees with his eyes.

The rational natural person comprehends that there are spirits and angels who are unseen;
but the sensuous person does not comprehend this, supposing that to be nothing which he does not see and touch.

AC 5089 - the learned, the simple

AC 5089 [2]
... those who are sensuous and have zealously devoted themselves to getting knowledges, rarely apprehend anything of the things of heaven....
... the learned believe less than the simple, and are even less wise in heavenly things; for the simple can look at a thing above terms and above mere knowledges, thus above sensuous things; whereas the learned cannot do so, but look at everything from terms and knowledges, their mind being fixed in these things, and thus bound as in jail or in prison.

AC 5076 - the external sensuous is to serve the internal sensuous

AC 5076 [2]
All the external sensuous things of a person . . .
are given to a person and placed in his body
in order that they may serve the internal person
while it is in the world and subject to sensuous things;
and therefore when a person's external sensuous things
begin to rule over his internal sensuous things,
the person is lost;
for the internal sensuous things are considered to be mere servants,
to serve for confirming those things
which the external sensuous things command with authority.
When the external sensuous things are in this state,
they are in inverted order....

AC 5068 - The Lord calls Himself "King"

AC 5068
... the Lord's royalty is the Divine truth,
from which and according to which judgment is effected.
But from and according to it the good are judged in one way,
and the evil in another.
The good, because they have received Divine truth,
are judged from good, and thus from mercy;
the evil, because they have not received Divine truth,
are judged from truth, and thus not from mercy;
for this they have rejected, and so they continue to reject it in the other life.
To receive Divine truth is not only to have faith,
but also to practice it,
that is, to cause that which is of doctrine to become of the life.
It is from this that the Lord calls Himself "King."

AC 5052 - the angels of the inmost heaven

AC 5052
The Lord insinuates conjugial love through the inmost heaven,
the angels of which are in peace beyond all others.
Peace in the heavens is comparatively like springtime in the world,
which renders all things joyous, for in its origin peace is the celestial itself.
The angels who are in the inmost heaven are the wisest of all,
and from their innocence they appear to others as infants,
for they love infants much more than do their fathers and mothers.
They are present with infants in the womb,
and through them
the Lord cares for the feeding and full development of the infants therein;
thus they have charge over those who are with child.

AC 5044 - the Prince of Peace

AC 5044 [3]
That a "prince" denotes primary truth,
is because a "king" in the internal sense signifies truth itself....

In Isaiah 9:6,7:
For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given;
and the principality shall be upon His shoulder - the Prince of peace.
Of the multiplying of His principality and peace there shall be no end;

which is said of the Lord.

The "principality upon the shoulder" is all the Divine truth in the heavens from Him;
for the heavens are distinguished into principalities according to truths from good,
and so also the angels are called "principalities."
Peace is a state of blessedness in the heavens,
affecting with good and truth from the inmosts;
and so the Lord is called the "Prince of peace,"
and it is said that
"of the multiplying of His principality and peace there shall be no end."

AC 5041, 5042 - the Divine was in Him for the salvation of mankind

AC 5041
That the Divine was in Him may be seen by every one within the church
from the fact that He was conceived of Jehovah,
for which reason He so frequently calls Him His "Father."
The very being of a person, and so the inmost of his life, is from the father;
the clothings or exteriors are from the mother;
therefore the Lord's being, and so the inmost of His life,
was Divine, because it was Jehovah Himself;
and the clothings or exteriors made the human
which He took from the mother by birth.
This human was such that it could be tempted...
but because the inmost was Divine,
He was able by His own power to cast out that evil heredity...
which was done successively by means of temptations,
and finally by the last, that of the cross,
when he fully glorified His Human, that is, made it Divine.

AC 5042
The Divine being itself, understood in the supreme sense,
is love utterly incomprehensible to mankind;
and from this love through truth all things come forth and subsist,
both those which have life and those which have not.
This Divine love from the very being through the inmost of life in the Lord,
flowed into everything He did from the Human taken from the mother,
and directed all to ends,
and these ends to the ultimate end that mankind might be saved.

AC 5036 - angels can see and defend

AC 5036 [3]
... temptations take place chiefly at the time
when a person is becoming spiritual;
for then he apprehends spiritually the truths of doctrine.
The person is often unaware of this,
but still the angels with him
see in his natural things
the spiritual;
for his interiors are then open toward heaven.
For this reason also the person who has been regenerated
is among angels after his life in the world,
and there
both sees and perceives the spiritual things
which before appeared to him as natural.
When therefore a person has come into such a state,
then in temptation, when assaulted by evil spirits,
he can be defended by angels,
who then have a plane into which they can operate;
for they flow into what is spiritual with him,
and through this into what is natural.

AC 5025 - the use and the end

AC 5025 [2]
... it is said that the use and the end make a thing spiritual or not spiritual -
use and end for the common good, the church, and the kingdom of God,
making it to be spiritual,
but use and end for the sake of self ... making it not spiritual.

AC 5005 - The Lord was alone

AC 5005
And it came to pass on a certain day,
that he went into the house to do his work.
And no man of the men of the house was there in the house.
(Genesis 39:11)

... by "Joseph" is signified the Lord,
and how He glorified His internal Human, or made it Divine,
by these words is signified
that He did this without the aid of any one.

That the Lord made His Human Divine by His own power,
thus without the aid of any one,
may be seen from the fact that
because He was conceived of Jehovah,
the Divine was in Him, and thus the Divine was His;
and therefore when He was in the world,
and made the Human in Himself Divine,
He did this from His own Divine, or from Himself.

AC 4997 - good joins together

AC 4997
... good is conjunction,
because all good is of love to the Lord and of love toward the neighbor.
The good of love to the Lord conjoins a person with the Lord...

AC 4973 - His Names

AC 4973 [2]
The name "Lord" is often used in the Word;
and one who has no knowledge of the internal sense
supposes that nothing more is meant by it
than what is meant by the use of this term in common speech;
but "Lord" is never used in the Word except where good is treated of,
and the same is true of "Jehovah;"
but when truth is treated of, "God" and "King" are used...

Jehovah your God, He is God of gods, and Lord of lords.
(Deuteronomy 10:17)

[4] From this it is also clear what is meant by the "Lord's Christ," --

Answer was made to Simeon by the Holy Spirit,
that he should not see death, until he had seen the Lord's Christ.
(Luke 2:26)

the "Lord's Christ" is the Divine truth of the Divine good;
for "Christ" is the same as "Messiah,"
and "Messiah" is the "Anointed" or "King".
"The Lord" here is Jehovah.
In the Word of the New Testament
the name "Jehovah" is nowhere used;
but instead of it "Lord" and "God".

AC 4963 - the Lord was born as other men

AC 4963 [2]
In respect to His Human
the Lord also had an external and an internal,
because it pleased Him to be born like other men.
The external was represented by Jacob, and afterward by Israel;
but His internal man is represented by Joseph.

AC 4956 - the essence of charity, and the hungry, thirsty, stranger, naked, sick, bound or in prison

AC 4956
The essence of charity toward the neighbor
is the affection of good and truth....
He therefore who has charity toward the neighbor
is affected by good and truth,
because they are from the Lord,
and holds in aversion what is evil and what is false
because these are from self,
and when he does this,
he is in humiliation from self-acknowledgment,
and when he is in humiliation,
he is in a state of reception of good and truth from the Lord.

... by the "hungry" they (the angels and the ancients)
perceive those who from affection desire good;
by the "thirsty," those who from affection desire truth;
by a "stranger," those who are willing to be instructed;
by the "naked," those who acknowledge
that there is nothing of good and truth in themselves;
by the "sick," those who acknowledge
that in themselves there is nothing but evil;
and by the "bound," or those or are "in prison,"
those who acknowledge that in themselves there is nothing but falsity.

AC 4934, 4937 - "and the government shall be upon His shoulder"

AC 4934
... the arms signify strength, and the hands power.

AC 4937
By the "shoulder," in the Word is also signified all power...

Unto us a Child is born,
and the Government shall be upon His shoulder.
(Isaiah 9:6)

AC 4918 - whoever

AC 4918
... whoever is reborn or regenerated is made a church.

AC 4901 - the angels have no notion of time

AC 4901 [2]
The progression of the life of spirits and angels indeed appears as in time;
but they have no thought from times, as people in the world have;
their thought is from states of the life,
and this without notion of times.
The reason of this is that the progressions of their life
are not distinguished into different ages,
for there they do not grow old,
and there are no days or years,
because their sun, which is the Lord, is always rising and never sets.
Hence no notion of time enters their thoughts,
but only a notion of state and its progressions -
notions being taken from the things that are and exist before the senses.

AC 4868 - the holiness of the Word

AC 4868 [3]
... the Word is holy ...
the holy flows in with those who
when they read it
are in the affection of good and truth.

AC 4850 - time, space & states

AC 4850
Time and the succession of time, or space and the extension of space, cannot be predicated of a person's interiors, that is, of his affections and the thoughts therefrom; because these interiors are not in time nor in place - although to the senses in the world it appears as if they were - but are interior things which correspond to time and place. These interior things which correspond we have to call states, because there is no other word by which these corresponding things can be expressed.

AC 4844 - "widow", "sojourner", and "orphan"

AC 4844
Jehovah who loveth the just,
Jehovah who preserveth the sojourners;
He upholdeth the orphan and the widow.
(Psalm146:9)

... by the "sojourner" are signified those who wish to be instructed in the truths of faith,
by the "orphan," those who are in good without truth and desire to be led to good by means of truth,
and by the "widow," those who are in truth without good,
and desire to be led to truth by means of good.

AC 4837 - Who is the neighbor?

AC 4837 [3]
The love of good and truth is what is called love toward the neighbor;
for the neighbor is he who is in good and thence in truth,
and in the abstract sense is good itself and its truth.

AC 4811 & 4812 - Genesis 38

AC 4811
The subject treated of in this chapter, in the internal sense, is the Jewish Church and the genuine church; the Jewish Church is described by Judah, and the genuine church by Tamar.

AC 4812
The sons by Tamar signify the two essentials of the church, namely, faith and love - Perez faith, and Zerah love. Their birth represents that love is actually the first born of the church, and faith only apparently so.

AC 4807 - Matthew 25, judgment day

But when the Son of man shall come in his glory,
and all the angels with him,
then shall he sit on the throne of his glory:
and before him shall be gathered all the nations:
and he shall separate them one from another,
as the shepherd separateth the sheep from the goats;
and he shall set the sheep on his right hand,
but the goats on the left.
(Matthew 25:31-33)

AC 4807
The reason reason why the Lord so spoke, is that He spoke here, as everywhere else in the Word of the Old and the New Testament, by representatives and significatives; for to speak by representatives and significatives is to speak at the same time to the world and to heaven, or to men and to angels. Such speech is Divine, because universal, and hence is proper to the Word.

Wherefore they who are in the world and care for worldly things only, do not apprehend anything else from what the Lord says here concerning the Last Judgment than that all are to rise again at one and the same time, and even that the Lord will then sit upon a throne of glory, and will speak to those gathered together according to these words.

But they who care for heavenly things know that the time of every one's resurrection is when he dies, and that the Lord's words here involve that every one will be judged according to his life, thus that every one carries his judgment with him, because he carries his life.

AC 4805 - the Lord's heaven is immense

AC 4805 [2]
... the Lord's heaven is immense, and it consists of every people and tongue, and that all are there who have been in the good of love and of faith; and it was shown that there are those in heaven who relate to all the province of the body both as to its exteriors and as to its interiors; but that if they aspired beyond the things which correspond to their life, especially if they condemned others who were outside of their society, they could not have heaven; and that in this case their society is a society of interior friendship, which as before said is of such a nature that when they approach others, they deprive them of the blessedness of spiritual affection; for they regard them as not being the elect, and as not living; and when this thought is communicated, it induces sadness, which however according to the law of order in the other life, returns to themselves.

AC 4803 - the Lord is perfect

AC 4803
It is worthy of mention, being wholly unknown in the world, that the states of good spirits and of angels are continually changing and perfecting, and that they are thus raised into the interiors of the province in which they are, and so to nobler functions; for in heaven there is continual purification, and so to speak new creation; but still the case is such that no angel can possibly attain absolute perfection even to eternity.

The Lord alone is perfect; in Him and from Him is all perfection.

AC 4792 - food

AC 4792
As food and nourishment correspond to spiritual food and nourishment,
therefore taste corresponds to the perception and affection of this food.
Spiritual food is knowledge, intelligence, and wisdom,
for from these, spirits and angels live and are nourished,
and they desire and have appetite for them
just as people who are hungry desire and have appetite for food.
Hence appetite corresponds to this desire.

AC 4783 - the internal sense and the sense of the letter of the Word

AC 4783
... for the internal sense is in the light of heaven,
because it is the Word for the angels;
but the sense of the letter is in the light of the world,
because it is the Word for people
before they come into the light of heaven from the Lord,
from which they then have enlightenment.

AC 4776 - cupidities are the opposite of charity

AC 4776
The veriest truth of the church is
that love to the Lord and love toward the neighbor are the primary things (Mark 12:29-31).

Cupidities extinguish this truth;
for those who are in a life of cupidities cannot be in a life of love and charity,
for the two are exact opposites.
A life of cupidities consists in loving self only,
and not the neighbor except from self, or for the sake of self.
Hence those who are in this life extinguish charity in themselves;
and those who extinguish charity, extinguish also love to the Lord;
for there is no other means of loving the Lord than charity,
because the Lord is in charity.
The affection of charity is heavenly affection itself,
which is from the Lord alone.


Mark 12:28-31:
One of the scribes came and heard them arguing,
and recognizing that He had answered them well,
asked Him, "What commandment is the foremost of all?"

Jesus answered, "The foremost is,
'HEAR, O ISRAEL! THE LORD OUR GOD IS ONE LORD;
AND YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD
WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL,
AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH.'

"The second is this, '
YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.'
There is no other commandment greater than these."

AC 4766 - And I, whither do I come? (Genesis 37:30) or Where now is the church?

AC 4766
And I, whither do I come?
That this signifies Where now is the church?

[2] If this Divine truth, that the Lord's Human is Divine, is not received, it necessarily follows that a trine should be adored, and not one; and also that half of the Lord, namely, His Divine, should be adored, but not His Human; for who adores what is not Divine?

... Let every one consider in himself when he says that he acknowledges and believes in one God, whether he does not think of three; and when he says that the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God, and these also are distinct in persons, and distinct as to functions, whether he can think that there is one God, except in the way that three distinct from one another make one by harmony, and also by condescension in so far as one proceeds from another. When therefore three gods are adored, where is the church?

[4] If also this Divine truth is not received both in doctrine and in live - that love toward the neighbor, or charity, and thence the works of charity, are an essential of the church, it necessarily follows that it is of the church to think what is true, but not to think what is good....

When faith separate establishes this, and also confirms it in life, no matter how it may speak of the fruits of faith, where then is the church?

AC 4763 - And he rent his garments. (Genesis 37:29)

AC 4763
And he rent his garments.
That this signifies mourning,
is evident from the signification of "rending the garments,"
as being mourning, namely on account of truth having been destroyed,
or because there was no faith.

We often read in the Word, especially the historic, of persons rending their garments; but the origin of this is not known at the present day, and it is also unknown that it was representative of grief on account of truth being lost. This act became representative from the fact that "garments" signified truths...

AC 4750 - the evil of the love of self

AC 4750 [5]
The evil of the love of self is not, as is generally thought, that external elation which is called pride; but it is hatred against the neighbor, and thence a burning desire for revenge, and delight in cruelty. These are the interiors of the love of self. Its exteriors are contempt for others in comparison with self, and an aversion to those who are in spiritual good, and this sometimes with manifest elation or pride, and sometimes without it; for one who holds the neighbor in such hatred, interiorly loves no one but himself....

AC 4748 - Joseph's brothers and the two truths

AC 4748
For by Joseph's brethren are represented those within the church who have confirmed themselves against Divine truth, especially against the two truths, that the Lord's Human is Divine, and that works of charity contribute to salvation, and this not only by doctrine, but also by life....

AC 4731 - the Lord's Human is Divine

AC 4731 [2]
This supreme or inmost truth,
that the Lord's Human is Divine,
is denied by those in the church who are in faith alone;
and yet because they know from the Word that in the Lord there is the Divine,
and do not apprehend how the Human can be Divine,
they therefore attribute both to the Lord,
making a distinction between His Divine nature and His Human nature.
Those however who are in a life of faith, or in charity,
adore the Lord as their God and Saviour;
and when in adoration,
they think of the Lord's Divine without separating it from the Human,
and thus at heart acknowledge all in the Lord to be Divine.

AC 4727 - the Human of the Lord

AC 4727
The Human of Him whose soul was Jehovah Himself
(as was the case with the Lord, for He was conceived of Jehovah)
could not when glorified, be other than Divine.
From this is is plain how greatly those err who make the Lord's Human,
after it was glorified,
to be like the human of a man,
when yet it is Divine.
From His Divine Human proceeds all the wisdom, all the intelligence,
and also all the light, in heaven.
Whatever proceeds from Him is holy;
and the holy that is not from the Divine is not holy.

AC 4721 - happiness & joy in heaven

AC 4721
... the happiness of the life after death and the joy in heaven
is the Divine which flows into willing well and doing well to others...

May you all have a blessed day of Thanksgiving!

Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth.
Serve the LORD with gladness;
Come before Him with joyful singing.
Know that the LORD Himself is God;
It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.
Enter His gates with thanksgiving
And His courts with praise
Give thanks to Him, bless His name.
For the LORD is good;
His lovingkindness is everlasting
And His faithfulness to all generations.
-- Psalm 100

AC 4691 - one thing expressed in two ways

AC 4691
Shalt thou indeed reign over us?
or shalt thou indeed have dominion over us?
(Genesis 37:8)

It is common in the Word, especially the prophetic,
for one thing to be expressed in two ways;
and he who does not know the mystery in this,
cannot but think it a mere repetition for the sake of emphasis.
But this is not so,
for in every particular of the Word there is a heavenly marriage,
namely, the marriage of truth with good and of good with truth;
just as there is a marriage of the understanding and will in a person.
One expression has reference to truth, the other to good;
thus one has reference to the intellect, for this belongs to truth,
and the other to the will, for to this belongs good.

AC 4683 - confidence

AC 4683 [2]

... all confidence derives its being from the life's purpose,
... genuine confidence is impossible except in good,
... a spurious and false confidence is possible even in evil.

AC 4680 - the history of the Ancient Church

AC 4680 [2]
The Ancient Church which was set up by the Lord after the flood was a representative church, and was of such a nature that all and each of its externals of worship represented the celestial and spiritual things of the Lord's kingdom, and in the supreme sense the Divine things themselves of the Lord; but all and each of its internals of worship bore relation to charity. This church was spread over a large part of the Asiatic world, and through many kingdoms there; and although there were differences among them as to doctrinal things of faith, still the church was one, because all in every part of it made charity the essential of the church. Those who at that time separated faith from charity, and made faith the essential of the church were called "Ham." But in course of time this church turned away to idolatry, and in Egypt, Babylon, and other places, to magic; for they began to worship external things without the internal; and as they thus receded from charity, heaven also receded from them, and in its place came spirits from hell who led them.

[3] When this church was desolated, a kind of new church began from Heber, which was called the Hebrew Church. This church existed in Syria and Mesopotamia, and also among some nations in the land of Canaan; but this new church differed from the Ancient, in that it made the essential of external worship to consist in sacrifices. It did indeed acknowledge the internal of worship to be charity, but not so much from the heart as did the Ancient Church; but this church also became idolatrous.

[4] At last it pleased the Lord to set up among the posterity of Abraham from Jacob a new kind of church, and to introduce among that nation the externals of worship of the Ancient Church. But such was the nature of this nation that they could not receive any internal of the church, because their hearts were altogether opposed to charity; and therefore only a representative of a church was instituted among them. This then is the reason why the sons of Jacob, or Joseph's brethren, signify in the proximate sense such a church, and why Jacob their father signifies the Ancient Church. In many other places in the Word, especially the prophetic, the Ancient Church is meant by "Jacob;" and sometimes also that Ancient Church is called "father and mother", "father" as to its good, and "mother" as to its truth. From this it is now evident that by their father's loving Joseph more than all his brethren is signified that the Divine truth of the Lord was conjoined with the Ancient Church.

AC 4672 - the beginnings of a church

AC 4672 [2]
The church which begins from faith has nothing to direct it but the understanding, and the understanding nothing but what is hereditary in a person, that is to say, the love of self and of the world. These persuade the understanding to search for things from the Word that will confirm them, and to explain away what is not confirmatory.

It is otherwise with the church which begins from charity: good is its director, and in good the Lord; for between the Lord and faith there intervenes the good of charity and of love, and without this intervention there can be no spiritual communication, for there is no influx without an intermediate. If evil is in the place of good, it drives away the Lord, and either rejects or perverts all things that are of Him, thus all that are of faith, for faith is from Him through good.

AC 4669 - Joseph

AC 4669
... the representation of Joseph,
as being in the supreme sense
the Lord as to the Divine spiritual.
... it is the Divine spiritual which proceeds from His Divine Human.
The Divine spiritual which proceeds from the Lord's Divine Human
is the Divine truth which is from Him in heaven and in the church.
The spiritual in its essence is nothing else.
The Divine spiritual, or Divine truth,
is also what is called the Lord's royalty,
and it is likewise signified by the Christ, or the Messiah.
For this reason Joseph was made as it were a king in Egypt,
that he might then represent what is of the Lord's royalty.

AC 4657 - the whisperers

AC 4657
There are spirits who have . . . wished to speak in the ear so no one would hear. But it was given me to tell them that this is not proper in the other life, because it shows them to be whisperers . . . and very many of them are of such a character as to observe the vices and faults of others, and tell them privately to their associates, or whisper them in the ear when others are present; and they see and interpret everything wrongly, and set themselves before others; and for this reason they can by no means be admitted into the company of good spirits, who are not such as to hide their thoughts. It was said that in the other life such speaking is heard louder than open speech.

AC 4641 - Esau - the Lord's Divine good natural

AC 4641
And these are the births of Esau.
... "births" as being derivations of good and truth...
... Esau, as being the Lord's Divine good natural.
This good is the subject now treated of in this chapter;
but as it is of such a nature as not to fall into the understanding of any person, and scarcely any angel, this good is therefore described by mere names.

For the Lord's Divine good natural, which is represented by Esau,
is what He had Divine from birth, since He was conceived of Jehovah,
and so from birth he had the Divine being, which He had as His soul,
and consequently as the inmost of His life.

AC 4622 - What sees, hears, smells, and feels?

AC 4622 [3]
It is also a real fact that it is not a person's body which sees, hears, smells, and feels, but his spirit; and therefore when the spirit is divested of the body, it is in its own sensations, the same as when it was in the body, only now more exquisite...

AC 4612 - love of self and love of the world

AC 4612 [3]
... the delights of the love of self and of the world
are in themselves diametrically opposite
to the delights of the love of the neighbor,
and consequently
to those of love to the Lord.

AC 4601 [2] - profanation

AC 4601 [2]
The profanation of good
by faith separated from charity
takes place when people acknowledge and believe
the truth of the Church and its good
and yet lead lives contrary to these.

AC 4605-4610 - The order of the names is determined by the state of the subject - the twelve sons of Jacob at this point

Genesis 35:22-26
AC 4605
Reuben
-- in the genuine sense signifies the truth of faith,
but after truth of faith has been made good,
(after regeneration)
he signifies the good of faith....
"Reuben Jacob's firstborn" is here signified the good of faith.
AC 4606
Simeon
-- in the supreme sense Providence
-- in the internal sense faith in the will
-- in the external sense obedience
Levi
-- in the supreme sense Love and Mercy
-- in the internal sense charity or spiritual love
-- in the external sense conjunction
Judah
-- in the supreme sense the Divine of the Lord's love
-- in the internal sense the Lord's celestial Kingdom
-- in the exterior sense that doctrine from the Word which is of the celestial church
Issachar
-- in the supreme sense the Divine good of truth and truth of good
-- in the internal sense celestial conjugial love
-- in the external sense mutual love
Zebulun
-- in the supreme sense the Lord's Divine Itself and His Divine Human
-- in the internal sense the heavenly marriage
-- in the external sense conjugial love
AC 4607
Joseph
-- in the supreme sense the Divine spiritual
-- in the internal sense the spiritual kingdom
-- in the external sense its good
Benjamin
-- the Divine spiritual of the celestial
AC 4608
Dan
-- in the supreme sense the Lord's righteousness and mercy
-- in the internal sense the holy of faith
-- in the external sense the good of life
Naphtali
-- in the supreme sense His own power
-- in the internal sense temptation in which there is victory
-- in the external sense resistance from the natural man
AC 4609
Gad
-- in the supreme sense omnipotence and omniscience
-- in the internal sense the good of faith
-- in the external sense works
Asher
-- in the supreme sense eternity
-- in the internal sense the happiness of eternal life
-- in the external sense the delight of the affection

Interesting to note the different signification on the different levels. Also, in the comments under today's post, these numbers are quoted in full. Their mothers also add to the significations.

AC 4596 - "This is the pillar of Rachel's grave even to this day." (Genesis 35:20)

AC 4596
This is the pillar of Rachel's grave even to this day.
That this signifies the state of the holy forever,
is evident from the signification of
a "pillar", as being the holy of truth...
a "grave", as being resurrection;
and ..."even to this day," as being forever.

AC 4581 - two offerings

AC 4581 [4]
Sacrifices were made from the herd or from the flock, and were representative of the internal worship of the Lord. To these were added the meat-offering and the drink-offering. The meat-offering, which consisted of fine flower mingled with oil, signified celestial good, or what is the same, the good of love, "oil" signifying love to the Lord, and "fine flour" charity toward the neighbor. But the drink-offering, which consisted of wine, signified spiritual good, or what is the same, the good of faith. Both together therefore (namely, the meat-offering and the drink-offering) signified the same things as the bread and wine in the Holy Supper.

AC 4567 - "to bless"

AC 4567
... "to bless"
is referring to all of the good with which any one is gifted by the Lord,
especially of the conjunction of good and truth.

AC 4551 - to obey

AC 4551
... to obey involves doing in act.

AC 4538 - it pleased the Lord

AC 4538 [3]
... it pleased the Lord to make His Human Divine
in the same order as that in which He makes a person new.

AC 4525 - we were created...

AC 4525
... with man especially
there is a correspondence of all things with the spiritual world,
and that without this correspondence
he cannot subsist even for a moment;
for without correspondence
there would be nothing continuous from the very being of life,
that is, from the Lord;
thus there would be what is unconnected;
and what is unconnected is dissipated as a nothing.
The reason why correspondence with man is
more immediate and hence closer,
is that he has been created to apply to himself the life from the Lord,
and into the capacity of a possible elevation by the Lord
above the natural world in regard to his thoughts and affections,
and thereby to think of God and to be affected with the Divine,
and thus to be conjoined with Him,
quite differently from the lower animals.

AC 4520 - all the truth

AC 4520
... all the truth that is in His kingdom and the church is the Lord's.

AC 4496 - "When they were in pain." Genesis 34:25

AC 4496
When they were in pain.
The reason why this pain signifies evil desires is that circumcision signifies purification from the love of self and of the world, and all the desire of the flesh is from these loves, and is therefore signified by this "pain," because when a man is being purified from these loves, as is the case when he is being regenerated, he is in pain and anxiety, and it is the evil desires then being removed which are in pain and anguish.

AC 4493 - the spiritual awareness of the Most Ancient, Ancient, Jewish, & Christian churchs

AC 4493 [4]
If a person of the Most Ancient Church had read the historic or prophetic Word, he would have seen its internal sense without any previous instruction or explication, and this so fully that the celestial and spiritual things of this sense would have at once occurred to him, and scarcely anything in the sense of the letter; thus the internal sense would have been in clearness to him, and scarcely anything in the sense of the letter; thus the internal sense would have been in clearness to him, but the sense of the letter in obscurity. He would be like one who hears another speaking and gets the meaning without attending to the words.

But if a person of the Ancient Church had read the Word, he could not have seen its internal sense without previous instruction or explication; thus the internal sense would have been in obscurity to him, but the sense of the letter in clearness. He would be like one who hears another speaking and is intent upon the words while not attending to the meaning, which is thus lost to him.

But when the person of the Jewish Church reads the Word, he apprehends nothing beyond the sense of the letter, he is not aware that there is any internal sense, and also denies it;

and at the present day, the case is the same with a person of the Christian church.

AC 4464 - Why we ought to be in internal things.

AC4464
Everyone one who reflects is able to know that it is by means of internal things that a person has communication with heaven, for the whole heaven is in internal things, and unless a person is in heaven in respect to his thoughts and affections, that is, in respect to the things of his understanding and of his will, he cannot go to heaven after death, because he has no communication with it. This communication is acquired by a person during his bodily life by means of truths that belong to his understanding and goods that belong to his will, and unless he acquires it then he cannot do so afterwards, because after death his mind cannot be opened toward interior things unless it has been opened during the life of the body.

AC 4453 - gold & silver

AC 4453 [2]
... if "gold" is named, the good of love and wisdom is understood;
if "silver," the truth which is of intelligence and faith...

AC 4442 - the Word through the heavens

AC 4442 [3]
... the Word has this peculiar feature,
not possessed by the writings of the ancients,
that each of the subjects
in a continuous series
represents the celestial and spiritual things
of the Lord's kingdom,
and in the supreme sense
the Lord Himself;
even the historicals themselves
being of the same character;
and - what is more -
they are real correspondences,
and these continuous through the three heavens
from the Lord.

AC 4427 & 4433 - What makes a church?

AC 4427
For the church is from the affection of truth...
whether you say the affection of truth,
or the church,
it is the same thing,
because it is from the affection of truth
that a person is the church.

AC 4433
For internal things make the church,
because in these is the Lord....

AC 4424 - "gnashing of teeth"

AC 4424 [3]
For in the Word the "teeth" signify the lowest natural things,
in the genuine sense the truths of these natural things,
and in the opposite sense their falsities.
The teeth moreover correspond to these things,
and therefore the "gnashing of teeth"
is the collision of falsities and truths.

AC 4413 - the light of heaven, sparkling like diamonds

AC 4413
... it is the intelligence of truth and the wisdom of good from the Lord that appear as light before the eyes of the angels ... a light that sparkled like the light radiating from diamonds; and while I was in it, I seemed to myself to be with drawn from bodily ideas and to be brought into spiritual ideas, thus into those things which belong to the intelligence of truth and of good.

AC 4404 - the correspondence of the senses

AC 4404
As regards the correspondence of the senses, speaking generally
the sense of touch corresponds to the affection of good,
the sense of taste to the affection of knowing,
the sense of smell to the affection of perceiving,
the sense of hearing to the affection of learning, and also obedience,
and the sense of sight to the affection of understanding and of being wise.

AC 4390 - Why do good and truth get mentioned so often?

AC 4390 [2]
The reason why good and truth are mentioned so frequently...
is that all things in heaven, and consequently all in the Lord's church,
bear relation to good and truth.
Speaking generally
these two include all things that belong to doctrine and to life;
truths, all things that belong to doctrine;
and goods, all things that belong to life.
Moreover it is a universal fact that the human mind
has no other objects than those which are of truth and good;
its understanding those which are of truth;
and its will, those which are of good.
Hence it is evident that truth and good are unutterable in number.
This is the reason why truth and good are so often mentioned.

AC 4380 - regeneration is effected by means of good conjoined with truth

AC 4380
... when good has applied itself to truths
and has conjoined itself with them a little,
then truth appears to react.
Yet it is not truth,
but the good that is conjoined or adjoined to it,
which reacts through the truth.

In heaven they think and speak in this way by means of abstract things,
for the reason that they do not attribute good and truth to themselves,
but to the Lord;
and because good and truth from the Lord fill the whole heaven.

AC 4364 - The Lord leads and bends us through freedom.

AC 4364 [2]
... all freedom is of affection or love...
and hence all the conjunction of good with truth
is effected in freedom,
but not in compulsion.
When therefore a person has been led in freedom to good,
truths are then accepted and implanted,
and he begins to be affected by them,
and is thus introduced little by little into heavenly freedom.
When one who has been regenerated
(that is, who loves his neighbor,
and still more who loves the Lord)
reflects upon his past life,
he will find that he has been led by many things of his thought
and by many of his affection.

AC 3453 - acting from truth comes first then acting from good

AC 3453 [3]
Act precedes, a person's willing follows;
for that which a person does from the understanding,
he at last does from the will,
and finally puts it on as a habit;
and it is then insinuated in his rational or internal.
And when it has been insinuated in this,
the person no longer does good from truth, but from good;
for he then begins to perceive therein somewhat of blessedness,
and as it were somewhat of heaven.

AC 4347 - And he bowed himself to the earth seven times. (Genesis 33:3)

AC 4347 [2]
The Divine is not in any affection of glory,
for what glory has the Divine from a person?
But He wills humiliation and submission,
not for His own,
but for the person's sake.
For when a person is in humiliation
he feels aversion for the evil and falsity in himself,
and thus removes them,
and on their removal
the Divine can flow in with good and truth.

[3] Humiliation and submission are predicated of truths
because truths flow in through the external person,
but good through the internal;
and the things that inflow through the external person
are attended with fallacies and the consequent falsities with their affections;
whereas this is not the case
with the things that inflow through the internal person,
because it is the Divine that flows in through this,
and comes to meet truths,
in order that they may be conjoined.

AC 4334 - whatever the Lord spoke

AC 4334 [4]
Whatever the Lord spoke,
being Divine,
is not the same in the internal sense as in the letter.
Thus eating and drinking in the Holy Supper
do not signify in the spiritual sense eating and drinking,
but the appropriation of the good of the Lord's Divine love.

AC 4302 - spiritual light and natural light

AC 4302 [2]
For they who are in heavenly perception
are in the light of heaven from the Lord,
in which light there is intelligence and wisdom.
But they who are in natural light
are not in any intelligence and wisdom,
except in so far as the light of heaven flows into this light,
and so disposes it
that the things which are of heaven may appear as in a mirror,
or in a certain representative image,
in the things which are of natural light;
for without the influx of the light of heaven,
natural light presents nothing of spiritual truth to view.

AC 4299 - where temptation comes from

AC 4299 [3]
Temptations and torments appear as if from the Divine,
because ... they come forth through the Lord's Divine presence;
but still they are not from the Divine, or from the Lord,
but from the evils and falsities
which are in him who is being tempted or tormented.

For from the Lord nothing proceeds but the Holy
which is good and true and merciful.
This Holy, which is good and true and merciful,
is what those who are in evils and falsities cannot endure,
because they are opposites or contraries.

AC 4289 - the Children of Israel were a representative of a church

AC 4289
... the representative of a church could not be instituted among them
until they had been altogether vastated,
that is, until they had no knowledge of internal things;
for if they had had a knowledge of internal things
they could have been affected by them,
and thus would have profaned them.
For holy things (that is, internal truths and goods)
can be profaned by those who know and acknowledge them,
and still more by those who are affected by them,
but not by those who do not acknowledge them.

How and why the Children of Israel became a representative of a church and no longer a representative church, like the Ancient Church was, is interesting. Portions of numbers, too long to be quoted here, will be in the comments under today's posting in the blog.

AC 4286 - "Israel"

AC 4286 [8]
For in the original language "Israel" means "one that contends with God as a prince," by which is signified in the internal sense that He overcame in the combats of temptations;
for temptations and combats in temptations were the means by which the Lord made His Human Divine;
and temptations and victories in temptations are what make a person spiritual...

AC 4274 - temptation

AC 4274
Temptation itself is nothing else than a wrestling or combat;
for truth is assaulted by evil spirits
and is defended by the angels who are with a person.
The perception of this combat by a person is the temptation.
But no temptation can take place
unless a person is in the good of truth,
that is, in the love or affection of it.

AC 4273 - the changing representation of Jacob

AC 4273
What Jacob had represented has been shown in the preceding pages,
and also that he represented various things in the natural,
because the state of truth and good is of one kind in the beginning,
or another in its progress, and still another in the end;
here, he represents the good of truth.

The reason of the this representation is
that his wrestling is presently treated of,
by which in the internal sense is signified temptation;
and because he was named "Israel,"
by whom is represented the celestial spiritual man;
and also because in what next
follows his conjunction with Esau is treated of,
by which conjunction is signified the initiation of truth into good.

These are the reason why Jacob now
represents the last or ultimate good of truth in the natural.

AC 4263 - why goods and truths come up so many times

AC 4263
That goods and truths are mentioned so many times,
and are signified by so many various things,
is because all the things of heaven and the church have reference thereto;
the things of love and charity to goods,
and the things of faith to truths.
But still the differences among them as to genera and as to species
are innumerable,
and indeed endless,
as is evident from the fact that all who are in good are in the Lord's kingdom;
and yet no society there,
nor indeed an individual in a society,
is in the same good as another.

AC 4249 - angels and evil spirits

... for the temptation comes from the angels holding a person in goods and truths and evil spirits holding him in evils and falsities.

[2] ... of such a nature is a person that if any one should say to him that there are evil spirits from hell who are flowing into his thought and will when he thinks and wills evils, and angels from heaven when he thinks and wills goods, he would stand amazed that any one should maintain such a thing; for he would say that he feels life in himself, and thinks from himself and wills from himself. From this feeling in himself he forms his belief, and not from his doctrine; and yet the doctrine is true, but the feeling fallacious.

AC 4236 - This is the camp of God. (Genesis 32:2)

AC 4235
And Jacob said when he saw them,
This is the camp of God.
That this signifies heaven,
is because the "camp of God" signifies heaven,
for the reason that an "army" signifies truths and goods,
and truths and goods are marshalled by the Lord in heavenly order...
and the heavenly order itself which is heaven, is the "camp."
This "camp" or order is of such a nature
that hell cannot possibly break in upon it,
although it is in the constant endeavor to do so.

It is this very order, and thus heaven itself,
which was represented by the encampments of the sons of Israel in the wilderness....
The tabernacle was in the midst,
and around which they encamped, represented the Lord Himself.

AC 4225 - the Grand Man is heaven

AC 4225
All those are within the Grand Man who are in love to the Lord
and in charity to the neighbor,
and who do good to the neighbor from the heart
according to the good that is in him,
and who have a conscience of what is just and equitable;
for these are in the Lord,
and consequently in heaven.

AC 4231 - "And tarried all night in the mountain" (Genesis 31:54)

AC 4231

And tarried all night in the mountain.

That is signifies tranquillity, is evident from the signification of "tarrying all night," as being to have peace, thus tranquility. It was also a rite that those who entered into a covenant should tarry all night in one place, because tarrying all night in one place signified that there was no longer any hostility, and in the internal sense, that there was tranquillity and peace; for they who are conjoined in respect to good and truth are in tranquillity and in peace. It is therefore said here, "in the mountain," because by a "mountain" is signified the good of love and charity; for the good of love and charity confers peace.

AC 4205 - the case with the affection of truth

AC 4205 [2]
...no truth can ever be implanted with genuine affection,
and become rooted interiorly,
unless the person is in good;
for the genuine affection of truth is from the good
which is of love to the Lord
and of charity toward the neighbor.
The good flows in from the Lord,
but is not fixed except in truths;
for in truths good is welcomed,
because the are in accord.

AC 4200 - affections of genuine truth

AC 4200
... the affections of genuine truth are to remain within the church,
and not to be defiled with truths not genuine.

AC 4197 - one tone does not create a melody

AC 4797 [7]
...one truth without connection with others is not confirmatory,
but a number together,
because from one may be seen another.

One does not produce any form,
and thus not any quality,
but only a number that are connected in a series.
For as one tone does not produce any melody,
still less harmony,
so neither does one truth.

AC 4192 - "...and they took stones, and made a heap."

AC 4192
... and they took stones, and made a heap. (Genesis 31:46)
That a "heap" signifies good, is because in old time, before they built altars, they made heaps, and ate together upon them, for a witness that they were joined together by love. But afterwards, when the representatives of the ancients were regarded as holy, instead of heaps they built altars; which also were of stones, but arranged in a more orderly manner. This is the reason why a "heap" has the same signification as an "altar," namely, the good of love; and by the "stones" in it are signified the truths of faith.

AC 4167 - just and fair

AC 4167
... in the natural that is properly called
what is just and fair
which in the spiritual is called
what is good and true.

AC 4151 - what we do

AC 4151 [6]
... for it is not the things that enter in,
but those which go out
that affect us;
according to the Lord's words in Mark 7:15:

There is nothing from without a man,
that entering into him can defile him:
but the things which come out of him,
those are they that defile the man.

AC 4145 - conjugial love - one heavenly affection

AC 4145 [3]
Take also as an example conjugial love:
the good which precedes and initiates is beauty, or agreement of manners,
or an outward adaptation of the one to the other,
or equality of condition, or a desired condition.
These goods are the first mediate goods of conjugial love.
Afterwards comes conjunction of minds, wherein the one wills as the other,
and perceives delight in doing that which pleases the other.
This is the second state;
and then the former things, though still present, are no longer regarded.
Finally there follows a union in respect to celestial good and spiritual truth,
in that the one believes as the other,
and the one is affected by the same good as the other.
When this state comes,
both are together in the heavenly marriage,
which is that of good and truth,
and thus are in conjugial love
- for conjugial love is nothing else -
and the Lord then flows into the affections of both as into one affection.

AC 4145 - conjugial love - one heavenly affection

AC 4145 [3]
Take also as an example conjugial love:
the good which precedes and initiates is beauty, or agreement of manners,
or an outward adaptation of the one to the other,
or equality of condition, or a desired condition.
These goods are the first mediate goods of conjugial love.
Afterwards comes conjunction of minds, wherein the one wills as the other,
and perceives delight in doing that which pleases the other.
This is the second state;
and then the former things, though still present, are no longer regarded.
Finally there follows a union in respect to celestial good and spiritual truth,
in that the one believes as the other,
and the one is affected by the same good as the other.
When this state comes,
both are together in the heavenly marriage,
which is that of good and truth, and thus are in conjugial love
- for conjugial love is nothing else -
and the Lord then flows into the affections of both as into one affection.

AC 4121 - brotherhood

AC 4121
... regarded in themselves
goods and truths acknowledge
no other father than the Lord,
for they are from Him alone.
Hence all who are in goods and truths
are in brotherhood....

AC 4112 - good & truth in the Word

AC 4112
... where truth is treated of in the Word,
good is also treated of,
because of the heavenly marriage of good and truth
in every particular of the Word.

AC 4104 - what happens when heavenly things come before natural things

AC 4107 [4]
... in so far as a person sets heavenly things before worldly ones,
so far are the things in his natural
arranged in order
according to the state of heaven ...

AC 4078 - nothing can do evil to the Divine

AC 4078
For nothing can do evil to the Divine,
but its influx can be hindered.
All evil does this....

AC 4063 - the use of mediate good

AC 4063 [2]
When a person is being regenerated, he is kept by the Lord in a kind of mediate good. This good serves for introducing genuine goods and truths....

[3]
When therefore a person, the old being made new (that is, being regenerated), it is not done in a moment, as some believe, but through a course of years; nay, during the person's whole life, even to its end; for his concupiscences have to be extirpated, and heavenly affections have to be insinuated; and the person has to be gifted with a life with which he had not before, and of which indeed he knew scarcely anything. Seeing that the person's states of life have to be so greatly changed, it must needs be that he is long kept in a kind of mediate good, that is, in a good which partakes both of the affections of the world, and of the affections of heaven; and unless he is kept in this mediate good, he (the person) in no wise admits heavenly goods and truths.

AC 4060 - coming in the clouds (Matthew 24:30)

AC 4060 [7]
And they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of the heavens
with power and great glory;
signifies that the Word will then be revealed as to its internal sense,
in which the Lord is;
the "Son of man" is the Divine truth therein;
the "cloud" is the literal sense;
"power" is predicated of the good, and "glory" of the truth....

AC 4054 - the brain, heaven, and uses

AC 4054
The brain, like heaven, is in the sphere of ends which are uses;
for whatever flows in from the Lord
is an end looking to the salvation of the human race.
This end is that which reigns in heaven,
and thereby reigns likewise in the brain;
for the brain, which is where the mind is, looks to ends in the body,
in order that the body my subserve the soul,
so that the soul may be happy to eternity.

AC 4032 - the Lord only works in freedom

AC 4032 [4]
... it is freedom by which the Lord works, and by no means compulsion;
for compulsion in things of a holy nature is dangerous,
unless it is received in freedom.

AC 4013 - trees

AC 4013
... trees in general signify perceptions and knowledges,
perceptions when predicated of the celestial person,
but knowledges when predicated of the spiritual person.
Hence trees specifically signify goods and truths,
for these pertain to perceptions and knowledges.

AC 4007 - the Lord's righteousness and merit in man

AC 4007
... the light of heaven,
which is from the Lord
and is the source of brightness and whiteness,
signifies truth;
and therefore that which is enlightened by that light,
and becomes shining and bright,
is that which is called the Lord's righteousness and merit in man.

AC 3994 - in all good there must be innocence

AC 3994
In all good there must be innocence in order that it may be good.
Charity without innocence is not charity;
and still less is love to the Lord possible without innocence.
For this reason innocence is the very essential of love and charity....
An own (or proprium) that is innocent is to know, acknowledge, and believe,
not with the mouth but with the heart,
that nothing but evil is from one's self,
and that all good is from the Lord...
When a person is in this confession and belief from the heart,
the Lord flows in with good and truth,
and insinuates into him a heavenly own,
which is white and lustrous.

AC 3993 - the spotted and the speckled from Laban's flock

AC 3993 [7]
... "speckled"... signifies the good with which evil is mingled...
... "spotted" signifies the truth with which falsity is mingled.
These are the things that were taken from the good of Laban
in order to serve for introducing genuine goods and truths.

[8]
... the evils with man are of various kinds;
there are evils with which goods cannot be mingled,
and there are evils with which they can be mingled;
and it is the same with falsities.
Unless this were so, no man could be regenerated.
The evils and falsities with which goods and truths cannot be mingled,
are such as are contrary to love to God and love toward the neighbor;
namely, hatreds, revenges, cruelties,
and consequent contempt for others in comparison with one's self;
and also the consequent persuasions of falsity.
But the evils and falsities with which goods and truths can be mingled,
are those which are not contrary to love to God and love toward the neighbor.

The rest of this number has excellent examples and explanations.
You can find it in comments under today's posting.

AC 3986 - soft & yielding vs. stiff resistance

AC 3986 [4]
... the good of love to God
and the good of charity toward the neighbor,
however various may be the truths and the affections of truth,
are nevertheless receptive of genuine truth and good;
for they are so to speak not hard and resisting,
but are as it were soft and yielding,
suffering themselves to led by the Lord,
and thus to be bent to good,
and through good to Him.
Very different is the case with those
who are in the love of self and of the world.
These do not suffer themselves to led and bent
by the Lord and to the Lord,
but resist stiffly, for they desire to lead themselves;
and this is still more the case
when they are in principles of falsity that have been confirmed.

AC 3969 - Lord's "royalty" and "priesthood"

AC 3969 [15-16]
The Lord's Divine Spiritual
is that which is also called His "royalty;"
for the Lord's "royalty" is His Divine truth;
and His "priesthood" is His Divine good.
The Lord's royalty itself is that which is represented by Joseph,
in his being made king in the land of Egypt...

As regards the Lord's Divine Spiritual, or the Divine truth,
which in the supreme sense is represented by Joseph,
is it not in the Lord,
but is from the Lord;
for the Lord is nothing but Divine good;
but the Divine truth proceeds from the Divine good.

AC 3965 - the reward of charity

AC 3965
To those who are in charity,
the reward consists in being able to show kindness
and in being allowed to do so,
and in the kindness being accepted.

AC 3954 - the Word serves people on earth and angels

AC 3954
... with the internal sense of the Word
the case is that when the sense of the letter ascends toward heaven,
and thus enters into the sphere where the thought is from the Lord
and concerning the Lord
and what belongs to the Lord,
it is at last so perceived by the angels....
For the sense of the letter cannot come to the angels,
because it treats in most places of worldly, earthly, and corporeal things,
of which the angels cannot think,
because they are in spiritual and celestial things,
and thus far above what is earthly.
For this reason a Word has been given that can serve people
and at the same time the angels.
In this the Word differs from every other writing.

AC 3951 - foresight and the conjunction of good and truth

AC 3951
... all the conjunction of truth with good, and of good with truth,
in a person, is effected from foresight;
that is, from the Lord's Providence....
For good is not good in a person until it has been conjoined with truth....
The Lord's Providence is especially concerned with this conjunction.

AC 3938 - loving goods and truths

AC 3938 [4]
... the further a person advances into the delight of the affections of truth and good, the more does he begin to regard the delights of evil and falsity as vile; and at last to hold them in aversion.

AC 3934 - good

AC3934 [2]
... thinking good and willing good are not possible without doing good.

AC 3921 - "God judging me" and "hearing my voice"

AC 3921
"God judging me"
signifies the Lord's justice....
His "hearing my voice"
is mercy;
for the Lord judges all from justice,
and hears all from mercy.
He judges from justice because from Divine truth,
and He hears from mercy because from Divine good;
from justice He judges those who do not receive the Divine good;
and from mercy He hears those who do.
But still when He judges from justice,
it is also at the same time from mercy;
for in all Divine justice there is mercy,
and in Divine truth there is Divine good.

AC 3906 - regard for self

AC 3906 [2]
...what is a person's own cannot but have regard for self,
and thus to the preference of self above others,
and consequently a contempt for others,
and moreover a feeling of self-merit in the good that we do.
These things are within external truth
before internal truth has been conjoined with it;
and this cannot be conjoined
until regard for self begins to cease
and regard for the neighbor begins to be felt.

AC 3901 - Isaiah 40:31

AC 3901 [2]
They that wait upon Jehovah shall be renewed in strength,
they shall mount up with strong wing as eagles,
they shall run and not be weary,
they shall walk and not faint.
(Isaiah 40:31)

"To be renewed in strength"
is to grow as to the willing of good;
and "to mount up with strong wing as eagles"
is to grow as to the understanding of truth, thus as to the rational.
The subject is set forth here as elsewhere by two expressions,
one of which involves the good which is of the will,
and the other the truth which is of the understanding;
and the case is the same with the expressions,
"they shall run and not be weary, and shall walk and not faint."

AC 3892 & 3895 - the celestial compared to the persuasive

AC 3892
...the most ancient people, who were celestial people,
and above all other people were in love to the Lord,
that they had not external respiration such as their posterity (us) had,
but internal;
but that they respired with the angels,
with whom they were in fellowship because they were in celestial love.
I was further informed that their states of respiration were altogether
according to their states of love and of the derivative faith.

AC 3895 [2]
The persuasion of truth when a person is in the life of evil
is of such a nature that he persuades himself that truth is truth,
not for the sake of good as the end,
but for the sake of evil as the end,
namely, that he may thereby gain honors, reputation, and wealth.
The very worst of all are able to be in such a persuasion,
and also in apparent zeal,
to such a degree as to condemn to hell all who are not in truth,
however much these may be in good.
When such persons first come into the other life,
they believe themselves to be angels;
but they cannot approach any angelic society;
being as it were suffocated by their own persuasion
as soon as they come near it.

AC 3881 - the spiritual sense?

AC 3881
... the histories of the Word are believed to be merely historical;
and the prophecies to be of the things
that have been consigned to oblivion,
except some from which doctrinal tenets may be drawn.
That there is a spiritual sense in them is not believed,
because at this day it is not known
what the spiritual sense of the Word is,
nor even what the spiritual is.
The principal reason of this is that people live a natural life,
and the natural life is such that when it is regarded as the end,
or is loved above all other things,
it obliterates both knowledges and faith;
insomuch that when spiritual life and a spiritual sense are mentioned,
it is as though a kind of nonentity were spoken of,
or something unpleasant or sad, that excites loathing,
because it is in disagreement with natural life.

AC 3880 - "to confess"

AC 3880
... all the doctrine of faith and charity must be from the Word; because from himself man knows nothing of things celestial and spiritual, and therefore he can know them only from Divine revelation, which is the Word. That in the supreme sense "to confess" signifies the Lord, is because the Lord is the Word...

AC 3877 - the quality of charity

AC 3877
The case with respect to charity is
that it contains within itself the willing of truth;
and through this
it contains within itself the understanding of truth;
for whoever is in charity has these.
But before a person comes to charity,
he must first be in the external,
namely, in the understanding of truth;
next in the willing of truth;
and lastly in being affected with truth,
which is charity.
And when a person is in charity,
he then looks to the Lord...

AC 3870 - the progress of regeneration from external to internal

AC 3870
... the subject treated of is the progress of a person's regeneration
from external to internal;
that is, from the truth of faith to the good of charity.
The truth of faith is external, and the good of charity is internal.
In order that the truth of faith may live,
it must be introduced into the will,
that it may there receive life;
for truth does not live from knowing, but from willing.

Life flows in from the Lord through the new willing
that He creates in a person.
The first life manifests itself by obedience,
which is the first of the will;
the second by the affection of doing the truth,
which is the progression of the will,
and which exists when delight and bliss
are perceived in doing the truth.
Unless there takes place such a progress of faith,
truth does not become truth.

AC 3868 - trust or confidence

AC 3868
... faith is trust and confidence...
trust or confidence is from charity,
and is not possible with any one
who has not lived the life of charity.

AC 3863 - understanding first, willing follows

AC 3863
Faith in the understanding is that which is signified by "Reuben;"
but faith in the will is what is signified by "Simeon."
That faith in the understanding, or the understanding of truth,
precedes faith in the will, or the willing of truth,
must be evident to every one;
for when anything is unknown to a person (such as heavenly good),
he must first know that it exists,
and understand what it is,
before he can will it.

AC 3855 - seeds, people, and the inflowing from the Lord

AC 3855
The Lord flows from the highest into the inmosts of a person,
and through these into his interiors,
and through these again into his externals;
thus He flows in mediately, and also immediately;
and as the externals are further from the Divine,
they are also on this account relatively without order,
nor do they suffer themselves to be reduced to such order
as do the internals.

The case herein is the same as it is with seeds,
which are more perfect within than without,
being so perfect within
as to enable them to produce a whole plant,
or a whole tree, in its order,
together with its leaves and fruits,
the external forms of which may easily suffer injury from various causes,
but not so much so the internal or inmost forms of the seeds,
which are in a more interior and perfect nature.

The case is the same with the internals and externals of people,
and therefore when a person is being regenerated,
he is regenerated as to the rational
before he is regenerated as to the natural;
and the regeneration of the natural is both later and more difficult,
because in it are many things which are not in order
and are exposed to injuries from the body and the world....

AC 3849 - in affections there is life

AC 3849
... nothing which is of doctrine,
and indeed nothing which is of memory-knowledge,
can enter into a person,
save by means of affections;
for in affections there is life...

AC 3829 - a footnote

AC 3829
And Jacob said unto Laban, Give me my woman.*
(Genesis 29:21)

* Although the term "woman" in this connection is offensive to the ears of English speaking people, it is necessary to keep to the word that is used in the original, which is mulier and not uxor (Latin for wife). Moreover Rachel and Leah were not the wives of Jacob, but merely his "women," because there is no marriage possible except that of "one man with one wife" (Arcana Coelestia no. 1907), and Jacob was a polygamist.

AC 3817

Genesis 29:16-17	Signifies:
And Laban had two daughters,	the affections of truth from the good which is from a common stock;
the name of the elder was Leah,	the affection of external truth with its quality
and the name of the younger was Rachel.	the affection of internal truth with its quality
And Leah's eyes were weak	the affection of external truth is such in regard to the understanding of it
And Rachel was beautiful in form and beautiful in look.	the affection of internal truth is such in regard to what is spiritual.

AC 3812 - from heaven and from hell

AC 3812 [2]
...all evil, as well as all the derivative falsity, flows in from hell;
and all good, and the derivative truth, from the Lord.
This is known to mankind from the doctrine of faith,
but scarcely one in ten thousand believes it....
The reason why a person does not believe that evil flows in from hell,
and good from the Lord,
is that he is in the love of self,
which love... is exceedingly indignant when it is said that everything inflows.
But the person believes that evil is from hell and good from the Lord
comes from the fact that he is not in the love of self,
but in love toward his neighbor and in love to the Lord,
for this love is attended with such a belief.

AC 3804 - good receives its quality from truths

AC 3804
... good receives its quality from truths,
and thus by means of truths is known and acknowledged.
Good does not become the good which is called the good of charity
until truths are implanted in it,
and such as are the truths that are implanted in it,
such good does it become.

AC 3780 - peace

AC 3780 [4&5]

Keep integrity and behold the upright,
because the end for that man is peace.
(Psalm 37:37 - Potts green edition translation)

... in the supreme sense "peace" signifies the Lord;
and in the representative sense His kingdom,
and good from the Lord therein,
thus the Divine which flows into good,
or into the affections of good,
which also causes joy and happiness from the inmost.
From this it is manifest what is meant by these words of the benediction:

Jehovah lift up His faces upon thee and give the peace.
(Numbers 6:26)

AC 3773 - on these two commandments

AC 3773
... all doctrine is founded on the two commandments -
that the Lord is to be loved above all things,
and the neighbor as themselves.
When these two commandments are regarded as the end,
the Word is opened;
for all the Law and the Prophets,
that is,
the whole Word,
so depend on these commandments
that all things are derived from them
and therefore all have reference to them.
And whereas the people of the church
are then in the principles of truth and good,
they are enlightened in everything they see in the Word;
for the Lord is then present with them by means of angels,
and teaches them (although they are unaware of this),
and also leads them into the life of truth and good.

AC 3768 - good

AC 3768 [2]
... good is the neighbor
because the Lord is in good,
and therefore
in the love of good
the Lord is loved.

AC 3762 - the truths of love

AC 3762
Those truths are called the truths of love which have been elsewhere termed celestial truths, for they are knowledges that relate to charity toward the neighbor and love to the Lord; in the supreme sense, in which the Lord is treated of, they are the truths of Divine love.

[2] These truths, that relate to charity toward the neighbor and to love to the Lord, must be learned before it is possible for a person to be regenerated; and must also be acknowledged and believed; and in so far as they are acknowledged, believed, and ingrafted in the life, so far the person is regenerated....

AC 3742 - the Lord's life

AC 3742
... there is one only life, which is from the Lord alone...
The appropriation of the Lord's life comes from
His love and mercy toward the universal human race,
in that He wills to give Himself to every one,
and all that is His,
and in that He actually does give them in so far as they receive,
that is to say,
in so far as they are in the life of good and in the life of truth,
as being likenesses and images of Him.
... such a Divine endeavor is continually proceeding from the Lord...

A short example is given at the end of 3743.
The whole of 3743 is in today's comments in the blog.

... like the light of the sun, which although single and white,
is yet varied as it passes through or flows into various forms,
and thereby produces beautiful and pleasing colors,
as well as those which are not beautiful and not pleasing.

AC 3732 - "to vow a vow"

AC 3732
In the internal sense "to vow a vow" signifies
to will that the Lord shall provide,
is from the fact that in vows there is a the desire and affection
that what is willed may come to pass;
thus that the Lord shall provide.
There is also implied somewhat of a stipulation,
and at the same time somewhat of an obligation
on the part of a person,
which he takes upon himself
if he comes to possess the object of his wish...

AC 3718 - there are two kinds of fear

AC 3718
Speaking generally, "fear" is of two kinds -
fear in what is not sacred,
and fear in what is sacred;
fear in what is not sacred is the fear in which are the wicked;
but fear in what is sacred is the fear in which are the good.
This latter fear is called reverential or sacred fear,
and is the result of our wonder at and longing for what is Divine,
and also of our love.
... The fear of love is a fear of injuring the Lord in any way,
or of injuring the neighbor in any way,
thus of injuring what is good and true in any way,
and consequently of injuring the sacred things
of love and faith and the consequent worship.

AC 3709 - What are the truths of the good of doctrine?

AC 3709
Truths of the good of doctrine are the doctrinal things
of love to the Lord and of charity toward the neighbor,
which are said to be conjoined with good
in the natural man
when to know them for the sake of doing them
is a pleasure and a delight.

AC 3704 - "Father" and "Son"

AC 3704 [2]
... in the internal sense "Father" signifies good;
and in the supreme sense, the Lord as to Divine good...
that "Son" signifies truth,
and the "Son of God," and the "Son of man," as to Divine truth....
And the same is evident from all those passages
where the Lord makes mention of His "Father,"
and calls Himself the "Son."

AC 3703 - good is the source, and truth is the action

AC 3703
... good is that from which all things are in both general and particular,
and truth is that through which they all come into manifestation...
(Green cover edition, translated by Potts)

...good is the source of every single thing that has being
and truth the means by which it is brought into being.
(Elliott translation)

manifestation - display or demonstration
(Merriam-Webster Dictionary)

AC 3700 - a ladder

AC 3700
And behold a ladder set on the earth. (Genesis 28:12)
In the original tongue the term "ladder" is derived from an expression which signifies a "path" or "way,"
.... which shows ... the communication of truth which is in the lowest place with truth which is in the highest.

AC 3696 - "laying down" and "sleeping" signify tranquillity

AC 3696
With those who are to be regenerated...
the case is that first of all they are in a state of tranquillity,
or in a state of external peace
(for external peace, or peace in externals, is called "tranquillity")
and the same is produced from the Divine state of peace
that is inmostly within it;
and it comes forth into the externals through the removal
of cupidities (evil desires) and falsities (false ideas);
for these are what cause all unrest.

[2]
... a state of peace in spiritual things
is like spring and dawn in natural things...
and that peace is from good and truth,
and unrest from what is evil and false....

In peace I will both lay me down and sleep;
for You Jehovah alone makes me to dwell in confidence.
(Psalm 4:8)

He will make me to lie down in green pastures;
He will lead me to the waters of rest;
He will restore my soul.
(Psalm 23:2,3)

AC 3680 - knowledges of good & knowledges of truth

AC 3680
... all truths are knowledges of good;
and truths which are not from good,
or which do not look to good as the end,
are not truths;
but in so far as they look to doctrine,
they are called the knowledges of truth.

AC 3676 - Are knowledges truths?

AC 3676
...knowledges are not truths in themselves,
but from the Divine things within them;
and when these Divine things shine forth,
the knowledges for the first time become truths.

AC 3660 - more on why the Word was written the way it was

AC 3660 [2]
... there are goods and truths of the natural
in which the goods and truths of the rational can be,
and that there are goods and truths of the natural
in which the goods and truths of the rational cannot be;
consequently, that there are goods and truths
of the natural which can be adjoined
to the goods and truths of the rational by correspondence.

[3] To know these goods and truths,
and to distinguish them from one another,
and also to view their qualities,
and thus how they are adapted for conjunction,
does not appear clear to a person
so long as he does not think from what is interior,
or from enlightenment by the light of heaven;
for in this case such things appear to him
to be both obscure and undelightful.
But nevertheless they are suited to the
apprehension and understanding of angels,
and even to the apprehension of spirits;
for the thoughts of angels and spirits are not distracted by
cares for worldly, corporeal, and earthly things,
as they had formerly been when they lived as people in the world.
Angels and spirits are in the pleasantness of intelligence
and the bliss of wisdom when such things are present with them
from the internal sense of the Word;
for then what is Divine shines upon them,
because in the supreme sense the Lord is treated of,
and in the representative sense the church and regeneration;
and thereby they are in the Lord's Divine sphere,
and in that of His ends and uses.

AC 3652 - Why was the Word written the way it was?

AC 3652 [5]
... each and all of the things recorded in the Word
concerning the Jewish and Israelitish people
are representative of the Lord's kingdom in the heavens,
and of His kingdom on earth....
But these matters were of such a nature as to be capable of representing
the celestial and spiritual things of the Lord's kingdom,
and the events that took place for the sake of the representation.
In this way the Word could be so written
as to be adapted to the understanding of the person who should read it,
and also to the understanding of the angels who are with the person.
This likewise was the reason why the Lord spoke in the same manner;
for had He spoken otherwise,
His Word would not have been adapted to the understanding
of those who read it, especially at that time;
nor to the understanding of the angels,
thus it would neither have been received by man,
nor understood by the angels.

AC 3634 - a person who is in correspondence

AC 3634
A person who is in correspondence, that is,
who is in love to the Lord and in charity toward the neighbor,
and thence in faith,
is as to his spirit in heaven,
and as to his body in the world;
and because he thus acts as one with the angels,
he is also an image of heaven....

AC 3605 - Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

AC 3605 [2]
... concerning the words in the Lord's prayer,
"Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil;"
in that temptation and evil are rejected
until what is purely angelic, that is, good, remains
without any idea of temptation and of evil,
and this with the added idea of indignation and aversion,
in regard to evil being thought of when the Lord is thought of.

AC 3599 - where there is good

AC 3599
... where there is good
there must be truth
in order for there to be anything...

AC 3589 - affection which desires and delights

AC 3589
... the signification of 'dainties,'
as being the delightful things which are of good
and the pleasant things which are of truth,
the delightful things which are of good are the desirable things,
and the pleasant things which are of truth are the delightful things;
for the affection of good is that which desires,
and then the affection of truth is that which delights.

AC 3577 - manna, dew, & morning

AC 3577 [4]
As the manna was heavenly bread,
in the supreme sense it signified the Lord as to Divine good;
and with people the celestial of love,
for this is from the Divine of the Lord;
the "dew" in which and with which the manna descended,
in the supreme sense denotes the Divine truth;
and in the relative sense, the spiritual truth with people;
"morning" is the state of peace in which these goods are.