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....