AR 937 - the process of conjunction

AR 937 [2-3]
. . . the Lord is present with everyone according to faith,
and is conjoined according to love.
Faith, and consequently the Lord's presence
are given through the knowledges of truths from the Word;
especially concerning the Lord Himself there;
but love and consequently conjunction
are given through a life according to His commandments,
for the Lord says:

He that has My commandments,
and does them,
he it is that loves Me;
and I will love him;
and will make an abode with him.
(John 14:21-24)

But how this is done shall also be told.
The Lord loves everyone, and wills to be conjoined to him,
but He cannot be conjoined as long as the person is in the delight of evil,
as in the delight of hating and revenging,
in the delight of committing adultery and whoredom,
in the delight of robbing or stealing under any form,
in the delight of blaspheming and lying,
and in the lusts of the love of self and the world;
for everyone who is in these
is in companionship with the devils who are in hell.
The Lord indeed loves them even there;
but He cannot be conjoined with them,
unless the delights of those evils are removed;
and these cannot be removed by the Lord,
unless the person examines himself that he may know his evils,
acknowledges and confesses them before the Lord,
and wills to desist from them, and thus perform repentance.
This the person must do as of himself,
because he does not feel that he does anything from the Lord;
and this is given to a person,
because conjunction, that it may be conjunction,
must be reciprocal,
of a person with the Lord, and of the Lord with a person.
As far therefore as evils with their delights are thus removed,
so far the Lord's love enters,
which, as was said, is universal towards all;
and person is then led away from hell, and is led into heaven.
This a person must do in the world;
for such as a person is in the world as to his spirit,
such he remains to eternity,
with the difference only,
that his state becomes more perfect, if he has lived well;
because he is not then clothed with a material body,
but the spiritual lives in a spiritual body.

AR 933 - Who will be in the Lord's New Church?

AR 933
. . . in the inmosts of the truths of doctrine and of life in the New Church
is the Lord in His Divine love,
from Whom all the goods which a person does
- apparently as of himself - flow forth.

[2] This takes place with those who go to the Lord immediately,
and shun evils because they are sins;
thus who will be in the Lord's New Church, which is the New Jerusalem.
For they who do not go immediately to the Lord
cannot be conjoined to Him, and thus neither to the Father,
and consequently cannot be in the love which is from the Divine;
for the looking to Him conjoins,
not a mere intellectual looking,
but an intellectual looking from the affection of the will;
and affection of the will is not given,
unless a person keeps His commandments;
wherefore the Lord says:

He that does My commandments,
he it is that loves me;
and I will come unto him,
and make an abode with him.
(John 14:21-24)

AR 923 - the Lord, the truth of the church & the good of religion

AR 923
. . . the Lord is the God of heaven and earth,
and that all the truth of the church,
and all the good of religion is with Him.

It is said the truth of the church and the good of religion,
because the church is one thing and religion is another.
The church is called a church from doctrine,
and religion is called religion from a life according to doctrine. . .

But yet where there is doctrine and not life,
there it cannot be said that there is either the church or religion,
because doctrine regards life as one with itself,
just like truth and good, faith and charity,
wisdom and love, understanding and will;
wherefore where there is doctrine and not life, there is no church.

AR 911, 914 - reception, enlightenment, rationality - all from the Lord

AR 911
. . . in general, and by "precious stone," in reference to the Word,
is signified Divine truth in the sense of the letter of the Word
translucent from the Divine truth in the spiritual sense;
the same is signified by "jasper," . . ..
The reason why it is translucent, is,
because the Divine truth, in the sense of the letter is in natural light,
and the Divine truth, in the spiritual sense is in spiritual light,
wherefore when spiritual light flows into natural light
with a person who is reading the Word,
he is enlightened, and sees truths there,
for the objects of spiritual light are truths.
The Word also in the sense of the letter is of such a nature
that the more a person is enlightened by the influx of the light of heaven,
so much the more does he see truths in their connection
and consequently in their form;
and the more he so sees them,
so much the more interiorly is his rational mind opened,
for the rational is the very receptacle of the light of heaven.


AR 914
. . . all things of doctrine from the Word with them,
will appear in light according to reception.
All who do not think sanely,
cannot believe that all things of the New Church can appear in light,
but let them know that they can,
for every person has exterior and interior thought.
Interior thought is in the light of heaven, and is called perception,
and exterior thought is in the light of the world;
and the understanding of every person is such
that it can be elevated even into the light of heaven,
and also is elevated, if from any delight he wishes to see truth.

For the delight of love and wisdom elevates the thought,
enabling one to see as in the light that a thing is so,
although he had never heard it before.
This light, which enlightens the mind,
flows in from no other source than out of heaven from the Lord;
and as they who will be of the New Jerusalem,
will directly approach the Lord,
that light will flow in, by the way of order,
which is through the love of the will into the perception of the understanding.

AR 917 - the twelve gates of pearls

AR 917
. . . the knowledge of the Lord
is the universal of all things of doctrine
and consequently of all things of the church;
from it all worship derives its life and soul,
for the Lord is the all in all of heaven and the church,
and consequently in all things of worship.

[2] The reason why the acknowledgment and knowledge of the Lord
conjoins into one all the knowledges of truth and good from the Word,
is because there is a connection of all spiritual truths,
and if you will believe it,
their connection is like the connection
of all the members, viscera, and organs of the body;
wherefore as the soul contains all these in their order and connection,
so that they are felt no otherwise than as one,
so, in like manner,
the Lord holds together all spiritual truths with a person.

That the Lord is the very gate,
by which people are to enter into the church and then into heaven,
He Himself teaches in John:

I am the door; by Me if anyone enter in, he shall be saved.
(John 10:9)

And that the acknowledgment and knowledge of Him is the pearl itself,
is meant by these words of the Lord in Matthew:

The kingdom of the heavens is like unto a merchant seeking beautiful pearls,
who when he had found one precious pearl,
went and sold all that he had, and bought it.
(Matthew 13:45-46)

"One precious pearl" is the acknowledgment and knowledge of the Lord.

AR 905 - square

AR 905
"The city lies foursquare"
that the length and breadth thereof might be equal,
and by "length" is signified the good of that church,
and by "breadth" its truth,
and when good and truth are equal,
then there is what is just.

AR 889 - to thirst

AR 889
I will give unto him that thirsts of the fountain of the water of life freely,
(Revelation 21:6)
signifies that to those who desire truths from any spiritual use,
the Lord will give from Himself through the Word
all things that are conducive to that use.

The reason why by "thirsting"
is signified to desire for the sake of some spiritual use
is because there is given a thirst or desire
for the knowledges of truth from the Word,
from natural use,
and also from spiritual use,
from natural use with those who have learning for their end,
and by learning, fame, honor, and gain, thus self and the world;
but from spiritual use with those whose end
is to serve the neighbor from love to him,
to consult the good of their souls, and that of their own,
thus on account of the Lord, the neighbor, and salvation;
truth is given to these so far as it conduces to that use,
"from the fountain of the water of life,"
that is, from the Lord through the Word;
to the rest truth is not given from thence;
they read the Word,
and every doctrinal truth therein they either do not see,
or if they do see it they turn it into falsity,
not so much in speech when it is uttered from the Word,
but in the idea of their thought concerning it.
That "to hunger" signifies to desire good,
and "to thirst" to desire truth . . ..

AR 880, 883 - Blessed Christmas

AR 880
The reason why by "Jerusalem" in the Word is meant the church
is because there, in the land of Canaan, and in no other place,
was the temple and the altar, and sacrifices were offered,
thus Divine worship itself,
wherefore also three feasts were celebrated there yearly,
and every male throughout the whole land was commanded to come to them.
So it is that "Jerusalem" signifies the church as to worship,
and therefore also the church as to doctrine,
for worship is prescribed in doctrine,
and performed according to it;
likewise because the Lord was in Jerusalem, and taught in His temple,
and afterwards glorified His Human there.

For Zion's sake will I not be silent,
and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest,
until the justice thereof go forth as brightness,
and the salvation thereof as a lamp burneth.
Then the Gentiles shall see thy justice, and all kings thy glory;
and thou shalt be called by a new name,
which the mouth of Jehovah shall name;
thou shalt also be a crown of glory in the hand of thy God;
for Jehovah is well pleased in thee, and thy land shall be married.
Behold, thy salvation cometh;
Behold, His reward is with Him.
And they shall call them,
The people of holiness, the redeemed of Jehovah;
and thou shalt be called, Sought out, A city not deserted.
(Isaiah 62:1-4, 11-12)

[2] The whole of this chapter treats of the Lord's advent,
and of the New Church to be established by Him.
This New Church is meant by "Jerusalem"
which shall be called by a new name which the mouth of Jehovah shall utter,
and which shall be a crown of glory in the hands of Jehovah,
and a royal tiara in the hand of God,
in which Jehovah shall be well pleased,
and which shall be called a city sought out and not deserted.
These words cannot apply to that Jerusalem which,
when the Lord came into the world, was inhabited by the Jews,
for it was directly opposite in every respect . . ..

[3] So in another part of Isaiah:

For, behold, I create a New Heaven and a New Earth;
the former shall not be remembered;
be glad and exult to eternity in that which I create;
behold I create Jerusalem an exultation, and her people a joy.
And I will exult over Jerusalem, and rejoice over My people.
Then the wolf and the lamb shall feed together;
they shall not do evil in all the mountain of My holiness.
(Isaiah 65:17-19, 25)

This chapter also treats of the Lord's advent,
and of the church to be established by Him,
which was not established with those who were in Jerusalem,
but with those who were out of it;
wherefore this church is meant by "Jerusalem"
which shall be unto the Lord "an exultation"
and whose people shall be unto Him "a joy";
also where "the wolf and the lamb shall feed together"
and where "they shall not do evil."
It is likewise said in this place, as in Revelation,
that the Lord "will create a New Heaven and a New Earth"
and also that "He will create Jerusalem"
which things have a like signification.

AR 883 [2-4]
That the assumption of the Human,
and the uniting it with the Divine which was in Him by birth,
and is called the Father,
had for its end conjunction with men, appears also in John:

For I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified in the truth;
that they may be one;
as We are one, I in them and Thou in Me.
(John 17:19, 21-22, 26)

From which it is plain,
that there is a conjunction with the Lord's Divine Human,
and that it is reciprocal,
and that thus and not otherwise
there is a conjunction with the Divine
which is called the Father.

The Lord also teaches that conjunction is effected by the truths of the Word,
and a life according to them (John 14:20-24; 15:7).
This therefore is what is meant by
"He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people,
and He Himself will be with them their God."

It is known that conjunction with the Lord is one thing,
and His presence another;
conjunction with the Lord is not given
except to those who approach Him immediately,
and His presence to the rest.

AR 876 - the church coming down

AR 876
. . . the church on earth
comes down from the Lord out of the angelic heaven,
because the angels of heaven
and the people on earth
in all things of the church
make one.

AR 857 - The Temple of Wisdom

The TEMPLE OF WISDOM comes up several times,
but I think this is the first visit recorded.
Sorry so long, even after chopping up, but it is a beautiful event.

AR 857
Awaking one morning from sleep,
I saw two angels descending out of heaven,
one from the southern quarter of heaven
and the other from the eastern quarter of heaven,
both in chariots to which white horses were harnessed.
The chariot in which the angel from the southern quarter of heaven
was conveyed, shone like silver,
and the chariot in which the angel from the eastern quarter of heaven
was conveyed, shone like gold;
and the reins which they held in their hands were refulgent
as from the flamy light of the dawn.
Thus these two angels were seen by me at a distance;
but when they came nearer, they did not appear in a chariot,
but in their angelic form which is human.
He who came from the eastern quarter of heaven,
was clad in a bright purple garment,
and he who came from the southern quarter of heaven
in a garment of hyacinthine blue.
When they were below under the heavens,
they ran to meet each other, as if they strove which should be first,
and mutually embraced and kissed each other.
I heard that these two angels, when they lived on earth,
had been conjoined in interior friendship;
but now one was in the eastern heaven and the other in the southern heaven.
In the eastern heaven are they who are in love from the Lord;
but in the southern heaven are they who are in wisdom from the Lord.

[2] When they had spoken some time about the magnificence of their heavens,
this came up in their discourse,
whether heaven in its essence is love, or whether it is wisdom.
They immediately agreed that one is of the other,
but discussed which was the original. . . .

[4] After these two angels were gone out of my sight,
I saw a certain garden on my right hand,
in which were olive trees, vines, fig trees, laurels, and palm trees,
planted in order, according to correspondence.
I looked into the garden, and saw angels and spirits
walking and conversing together among the trees;
and then a certain angelic spirit observed me.
They are called angelic spirits,
who in the world of spirits are prepared for heaven,
and afterwards become angels.
That spirit came out of the garden towards me, and said,
"Will you come with me into our paradise,
and you shall hear and see wonderful things."
And I went with him, and then he said to me,
"Those whom you see (for there were many)
are all in the affection of truth, and thence in the light of wisdom.
Here also is a building which we call the TEMPLE OF WISDOM;
but no one sees it who believes himself very wise,
much less he who believes himself wise enough,
and still less he who believes himself wise from himself;
the reason is, because such persons are not
in the reception of the light of heaven from the affection of genuine wisdom.
Genuine wisdom consists in a person's seeing from the light of heaven,
that the things which he knows, understands, and is wise in,
are so little respectively to what he does not know, understand,
and is wise in, as a drop to the ocean, consequently scarcely anything.
Everyone who is in this paradisal garden,
and acknowledges in himself from perception and sight
that his own wisdom is so little comparatively, sees that temple of wisdom,
for interior light enables him to see it, but not exterior light without it."

[6] The angelic spirit entered with me, to whom I related
what I heard from the two angels concerning love and wisdom,
as also concerning charity and faith.
And he then said, "Did they not speak of a third also?"
I said, "What third?"
He replied, "It is Use: love and wisdom without use are not anything:
they are only ideal entities;
nor do they become real before they are in use:
for love, wisdom, and use, are three things which cannot be separated.
If they are separated, neither is anything.
Love is not anything without wisdom,
but in wisdom it is formed for something.
This something for which it is formed, is use.
Therefore, when love through wisdom is in use,
it is then something; yea, it then first exists.
They are altogether as the end, the cause, and the effect.
The end is not anything, unless through the cause it is in the effect.
If one of the three is loosed, the whole is loosed,
and becomes as nothing.
It is similar with charity, faith, and works.

[7] As it is in this, so it is in each and every created thing;
they are terminated in their third.
Hence now it is, that three in the Word,
spiritually understood, signifies complete and altogether.

[11] There are two things which make life, love and wisdom;
or what is the same, the good of love and the truth of wisdom.
These flow in from God, and are received by a person,
and are felt in the person as in him;
and because they are felt by him as in him,
they also proceed as from him.
It is given by the Lord,
that they should be thus felt by the person,
in order that what flows in may affect him,
and so be received and remain.
But because all evil also flows in, not from God, but from hell,
and this is received with enjoyment,
because a person was born such an organ,
therefore no more of good is received from God,
than there is of evil removed by the person as of himself;
which is done by repentance,
and at the same time by faith in the Lord.

AR 868 - works

AR 868
The works of the mind are intentions and endeavors,
and the works of the body are words and actions;
each of these proceed from the internal life of a person,
which is of his will or love.

AR 860 - Gog & Magog are those who are in external worship and not internal worship

AR 860
. . . that the New Church to be established by the Lord
will be informed in truths and goods of every kind,
and be imbued with goods of every kind . . .
(see Ezekiel 39:17-22, below)

"Son of man, this is what the Sovereign LORD says:
Call out to every kind of bird and all the wild animals:
'Assemble and come together from all around
to the sacrifice I am preparing for you,
the great sacrifice on the mountains of Israel.
There you will eat flesh and drink blood.
You will eat the flesh of mighty men
and drink the blood of the princes of the earth
as if they were rams and lambs, goats and bulls
—all of them fattened animals from Bashan.
At the sacrifice I am preparing for you,
you will eat fat till you are glutted and drink blood till you are drunk.
At my table you will eat your fill of horses and riders,
mighty men and soldiers of every kind,' declares the Sovereign LORD.
"I will display my glory among the nations,
and all the nations will see
the punishment I inflict and the hand I lay upon them.
From that day forward
the house of Israel will know that I am the LORD their God."

AR 849 - "to reign with the Lord"

AR 849
That "to reign with the Lord" does not mean to reign with Him,
but to be in His kingdom by conjunction with Him . . ..
For the Lord alone reigns,
and everyone in heaven, who is in any function,
performs his office in his society, as in the world,
but under the auspices of the Lord;
they act indeed as of themselves,
but because they regard uses in the first place,
they act from the Lord, from whom is all use.

AR 840 - "And I saw an angel" (Revelation 20:1)

AR 840
And I saw an angel coming down from heaven,
having the key of the abyss, and a great chain in his hand,
(Revelation 20:1)
. . . there was not any key nor a chain in the Lord's hand;
but it was so seen by John
that it might be a representative of the Lord's Divine power;
the opening and shutting of hell
is also treated of two or three times in this chapter.

AR 839 - the visible Divine Human which is Christ the Lord, our Ruler and Savior

AR 839 [5-11]
Our Father who art in the heavens,
hallowed be Thy name;
Thy kingdom come;
Thy will be done as in heaven so also upon the earth.

'We in heaven read that prayer daily, like people on earth;
and we do not then think of God the Father, because He is invisible;
but we think of Him in His Divine Human, because in this He is visible;
and in this He is called by you Christ, but by us the Lord;
and thus to us the Lord is the Father in heaven.
The Lord also taught that He and the Father are one;
that the Father is in Him and He in the Father;
and that he who sees Him sees the Father;
also that no one comes to the Father but by Him;

"Moreover we instructed them from the Word,
that the Lord came into the world, that He might glorify His Human,
for the end that the angels of heaven and the men of the church
might be united to God the Father through Him and in Him;
for He taught that they who believe in Him are in Him, and He in them;
which is as the church teaches, that they are in the body of Christ.
Finally we informed them,
that at this day a New Church is being established by the Lord,
which is meant by 'the New Jerusalem' in Revelation;
in which will be the worship of the Lord alone, as it is in heaven;
and that thus everything which is contained in the Lord's Prayer
from beginning to end will be fulfilled.
All the things which we have said above
we confirmed from the Word in the Evangelists,
and from the Word in the Prophets,
in such abundance that they were tired of hearing.

First. We confirmed that 'our Father in the heavens'
is the Lord Jesus Christ, from these passages:

Unto us a Boy is born, unto us a Son is given;
and His name shall be called
Wonderful, Counselor, God, Father of eternity, Prince of peace.
(Isaiah 9:6)
Thou, O Jehovah, art our Father,
the Redeemer from everlasting is Thy name.
(Isaiah 63:16)
Jesus said, He that sees Me, sees Him that sent Me.
(John 12:45)
Philip said, Lord, show us the Father;
Jesus said unto him, He that sees Me, sees the Father;
how say you then, show us the Father?
(John 14:8, 9)
Jesus said, the Father and I are one.
(John 10:30)

Second. That 'hallowed be Thy name,'
is to approach the Lord and worship Him,
we confirmed by these passages:

Who shall not glorify Your name, for You alone are holy.
(Revelation 15:4).

This is concerning the Lord:
Jesus said, Father, glorify Thy Name;
and there came forth a voice from heaven,
I have both glorified it and will glorify it.
(John 12:28)
The name of the Father which was glorified is the Divine Human.
Jesus said, I am come in My Father's name.
(John 5:43)
Jesus said, He that receives this boy in My name, receives Me;
and he that receives Me, receives Him that sent Me.
(Luke 9:48)
These things were written,
that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God,
and that believing you may have life in His name.
(John 20:31)
Where two or three are gathered together in My name,
there am I in the midst of them.
(Matthew 18:19-20)

Third. That 'Thy kingdom come' means that the Lord reigns,
we confirmed by these passages:

The Law and the Prophets were until John;
since that time the kingdom of God is evangelized.
(Luke 16:16)
Jesus Himself preached the gospel of the kingdom,
and that the kingdom of God has approached.
(Matthew 4:17, 23; 9:35)
The Father has given all things into the hand of the Son.
(John 3:35)
All power is given unto Me in heaven and on earth.
(Matt 28:18)
Jehovah of Hosts is His name,
and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel,
the God of the whole earth shall He be called.
(Isaiah 54:5)
I saw, and behold, one like the Son of man,
to whom was given dominion, and glory, and the kingdom;
and all peoples and nations shall worship Him;
His dominion is the dominion of an age which shall not pass away,
and His kingdom that which shall not perish.
(Dan. 7:13-14).
When the seventh angel sounded,
there were voices in heaven, saying,
The kingdoms of the world are become our Lord's and His Christ's,
and He shall reign for ages of ages.
(Revelation 11:15; 12:10)
Which kingdom of the Lord is treated of in Revelation from beginning to end;
into which all will come who will be of the New Church,
which is the New Jerusalem.

Fourth. 'Thy will be done as in heaven so also upon the earth,'
we confirmed by these passages:

Jesus said, This is the will of the Father,
that everyone that sees the Son,
and believes on Him, may have everlasting life.
(John 6:40).
God so loved the world, that He gave His Only begotten Son,
that everyone who believes in Him may not perish,
but have eternal life.
(John 3:15-16)

To believe in Him is to go to Him, and to have confidence that He saves,
because He is the Savior of the world.
Besides, it is known in the church,
that the Lord Jesus Christ reigns in heaven.
He says also that His kingdom is there.
When, therefore, the Lord reigns in like manner in the church,
'then the Father's will is done as in heaven so also upon the earth.'

AR 820 - the coming of the one God of heaven and earth

AR 820
And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse . . ..
"heaven was seen open" is signified a revelation from the Lord . . ..
By "a horse" is signified the understanding of the Word,
and by "a white horse" the interior understanding of the Word . . ..

Everyone who does not think beyond the sense of the letter,
believes that when the Last Judgment shall come,
the Lord will appear in the clouds of heaven
with the angels and sounds of trumpets.
But that this is not meant,
but that He will appear . . . in the spiritual sense of the Word.
It appears not only that He is the Word, that is, the Divine truth itself,
and that He is the inmost of the Word, and consequently the all of it;
but also that He Himself is the one God, in whom is the Trinity,
and thus the only God of heaven and earth;
and moreover that He came into the world,
that He might glorify His Human, that is, make it Divine.
The Human which He glorified, that is, made Divine,
was the natural human, which He could not glorify or make Divine
but by taking on the human in a virgin in the natural world;
to which He then united His Divine, which He had from eternity.
That unition was effected by temptations
admitted into the human that He had taken,
the last of which was the passion of the cross,
and at the same time by the fulfilling of all things of the Word;
not only by the fulfilling of all things of the Word in its natural sense,
but also by the fulfilling of all things of the Word in its spiritual sense
and in its celestial sense . . .

AR 818 - "adore God"

AR 818
. . . no angel of heaven is to be adored and invoked,
but the Lord alone.
By "having the testimony of Jesus"
is signified that he is in like manner in conjunction with the Lord,
through the acknowledgment of the Divine in His Human,
and through a life according to His commandments. . ..
That the angels of heaven are not superior to people,
but that they are their equals,
and that they are therefore equally the Lord's servants, as people are,
is because all the angels have been people,
born in the world, and not any of them were created immediately . . ..
They indeed excel people in wisdom;
but this is for the reason that they are in a spiritual state,
and so in the light of heaven,
and not in a natural state,
and so in the light of the world, as people are upon earth.
But as far as any angel excels in wisdom,
so far he acknowledges that he is not above people, but like them;
on which account there is not any conjunction of people with the angels,
but there is consociation with them.
Conjunction is given with the Lord alone.

AR 816 - hmmmmm

AR 816 [2]
. . . the whole heaven acknowledges the Lord alone as the God of heaven,
and that He alone is to be adored;
also that the New Church is to be established by the Lord on the earth,
as it has been established in the heavens;
for a church is first established in the heavens by the Lord,
and then through the heavens on the earth.

AR 812 - Rejoice, exult, and give glory to the One God, the Lord

AR 812
Let us rejoice and exult, and give the glory to Him;
for the marriage of the Lamb is come,
(Revelation 19:7)
signifies joy of soul and heart, and consequently the glorification of the Lord,
that in the future there may be a full marriage of Him with the church.
By "rejoice and exult" is signified joy of soul and heart.
Joy of soul is joy of the understanding, or from the truth of faith;
and joy of heart is joy of the will, or from the goods of love.
The two are mentioned on account of the marriage of truth and good
in each thing of the Word.
By "giving glory to Him"
is signified to acknowledge and confess that all truth is from the Lord;
also to acknowledge that the Lord is the God of heaven and earth;
here therefore is signified to glorify,
because this involves both.
By "for the marriage of the Lamb is come,"
is signified because from now on there is the full marriage
of the Lord and the church.
That this may be signified, it is therefore said "the Lamb;"
and by "the Lamb" is meant the Lord as to the Divine Human.

[2] It may be evident almost without explanation,
that when the Lord's Human is acknowledged to be Divine,
there is effected a full marriage of the Lord and the church . . ..
That there is then the full marriage of the Lord and the church,
when His Human is acknowledged to be Divine, is manifest;
for then God the Father and He are acknowledged to be one,
as the soul and the body.
When this is acknowledged,
the Father is not approached for the sake of the Son;
but then the Lord Himself is approached,
and God the Father through Him;
because the Father is in Him, as the soul is in the body, as was said.
Before the Lord's Human is acknowledged to be Divine,
there is indeed a marriage of the Lord with the church;
but only with those who approach the Lord, and think of His Divine,
and not at all whether His Human is Divine or not.
The simple in faith and in heart do this; but rarely the learned and erudite.
Moreover also there cannot be given three husbands to one wife,
nor three souls to one body;
and therefore, unless one God is acknowledged, in whom is the Trinity,
and that that God is the Lord, there is no marriage.

AR 809 - "Praise our God"

AR 809
And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God . . .
(Revelation 19:5)
signifies influx from the Lord into heaven . . .
that all who are in the truths of faith and in the goods of love
should worship the Lord as the only God of heaven.

[2] That "to praise God" signifies to worship Him,
and the praise of Him is the worship of Him,
is evident from many passages in the Word. . .:

Suddenly there was with the angel
a multitude of them that praise God.
(Luke 2:13, 20)

The whole multitude of the disciples
began to praise God with a great voice.
(Luke 19:37)

They were in the temple praising and blessing God.
(Luke 24:53)

Cause to be heard, praise you, and say,
O Jehovah, save Thy people.
(Jeremiah 31:7)

AR 802 - to save is purely Divine

AR 802 [3]
. . . to remit sins,
which is the same as to reform and regenerate,
and so to redeem and save a person,
is purely Divine,
and that a person cannot ascribe to himself anything Divine
without profanation . . ..

AR 796 - the Light

AR 796
. . . the origin of spiritual light is from the Lord . . .
and no others can accept that light, nor receive it,
but they who are conjoined with the Lord;
and conjunction with the Lord is effected solely
by the acknowledgment and worship of Him,
and at the same time
by a life according to His commandments from the Word.

He was the true Light,
which enlightens every man that cometh into the world.
(John 1:4-12)

This is the judgment,
that the Light is come into the world;
he that does the truth comes to the Light.
(John 3:19, 21)

Jesus said, Yet a little while is the Light with you;
walk while you have the Light, lest darkness seize upon you;
while you have the Light, believe in the Light,
that you may be sons of the Light.
(John 12:35, 36)

Jesus said, I am come a Light into the world,
that everyone who believes in Me,
may not abide in darkness.
(John 12:46)

Jesus said, I am the Light of the world.
(John 9:5)

Simeon said, My eyes have seen Your salvation,
a Light for the revelation of the nations.
(Luke 2:30-32)

The people sitting in darkness have seen a great Light;
and to them that sit in the region and shadow of death,
Light has arisen.
(Matthew 4:16; Isaiah 9:2)

I have given thee for a Light of the nations,
that you may be My salvation
even unto the extremity of the earth.
(Isaiah 49:6)

The city New Jerusalem has no need of the sun and moon to shine in it,
for the glory of God enlightens it,
and the lamp of it is the Lamb.
(Revelation 21:23; 22:5)

A quote in AR 789

A quote in AR 789

Blessed of Jehovah is the land of Joseph,
for the precious things of heaven,
for the precious things of the products of the sun,
and for the precious things of the produce of the months,
and for the precious things of the hills of eternity,
and for the precious things of the earth.
(Deuteronomy 33:13-16)

AR 777 - worship

AR 777
. . . the quality of the worship is from the goods and truths of doctrine;
for worship is nothing but an external act,
in which there should be the internals,
which are of doctrine.
Without these the worship is without its essence, life and soul.
Now because all the things which are of doctrine
have relation to the goods which are of love and charity,
and to the truths which are of wisdom and faith,
and these goods and truths,
according to the degrees of their order,
are celestial, spiritual, and natural,
so also are all the things of worship.

AR 774 - thyine wood and ivory

AR 774 [3]
By "thyine wood" is signified natural good,
because "wood" in the Word signifies good . . ..
That it is natural good, is because wood is not a costly material,
like gold, silver, precious stone, pearl, fine linen, purple, silk and scarlet . . ..
It is the same with ivory,
by which natural truth is signified.
"Ivory" signifies natural truth, because it is white, and can be polished,
and because it protrudes from the mouth of an elephant,
and likewise makes his strength.
That "ivory" may be the natural truth
of that good which is signified by "thyine wood,"
it is said "a vessel of ivory;"
for by "a vessel" that which contains is signified;
here truth the containant of good. (Rev. 18:12)

AR 762 - the law of retaliation

AR 762 [2]
. . . every evil brings its own punishment with itself.
This is similar to what is said frequently in the Word,
that God will bring retribution and vengeance
for injustices and injuries done to Himself,
and from anger and wrath will destroy them;
when yet the evils themselves
which they have committed against God do this;
thus they do it to themselves;
for this is the law of retaliation,
which draws its very origin from this Divine law:

All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you,
do ye even so to them;
for this is the Law and the Prophets.
(Matthew 7:12; Luke 6:31).

This law in heaven is the law of mutual love or charity,
from which it becomes the opposite in hell . . ..

AR 756 - affections not in the stream of Providence

AR 756 [2]
It is not known in the world,
that all after death become affections of the ruling love in themselves.
Those become good affections,
who have looked to the Lord and to heaven,
and at the same time have shunned evils as sins;
but those become evil affections, which are lusts,
who have looked only to themselves and the world,
and have shunned evils not as sins,
but only as hurtful to one's reputation and honor.
Those affections appear to the life and are perceived in the spiritual world,
but in the natural world, only the thoughts from the affections.
Hence it is, that a person does not know
that hell is in the affections of the love of evil,
and heaven in the affections of the love of good.

That a person does not know and that he does not perceive it,
is because the lusts of the love of evil derive from heredity
that they are delightful in the will,
and thence are pleasant in the understanding;
and a person does not reflect upon that which is delightful and pleasant,
because it leads his mind [animus] along,
as the current of a swift river carries a vessel.
Wherefore they who have immersed themselves
in those delights and pleasures
cannot come to the delights and pleasures
of the affections of the love of good and truth
any otherwise than as those
who urge the oars against the current of the swift river
with the strong power of the arms.
But it is otherwise with those who have not immersed themselves deeply.

AR 752 - Pope Sextus Quintus

AR 752
It was granted me to speak with Pope Sextus Quintus. He came out of a certain society in the west to the left. He said to me that he was appointed as chief governor of a society collected from Catholics who excel the rest in judgment and industry; and that he was made their chief governor for the reason that he had believed for half a year before his death that the vicarship was an invention for the sake of dominion; and that the Lord the Savior, because He is God, is He who is alone to be adored and worshiped; also that the Sacred Scripture is Divine, and thus more holy than the edicts of popes. He said that he remained firm in the belief of these two heads of religion until the end of his life. He also said that their saints are not anything. He wondered when I related that it was decreed in a synod, and confirmed by a bull, that they should be invoked. He said that he led an active life as he had done in the world; and that he proposed to himself every morning nine or ten things, which he wished should be accomplished before evening.

AR 750 - "Until the words of God shall be consummated" (Revelation 17:17)

AR 750
"Until the words of God shall be consummated"
(Revelation 17:17)
By "being consummated" is signified to be fulfilled;
and by "the words of God" are signified the things
which are foretold in the Word.

Because it is here said, "until the words of God are consummated,"
it shall also be told
what is signified by the Lord's last words to the disciples,
which are these:

Go ye and make disciples of all nations,
teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you;
and behold, I am with you all the days,
even until the consummation of the age. Amen.
(Matt. 28:19-20)

"Until the consummation of the age" is until the end of the church;
and then, if they do not go to the Lord Himself,
and live according to His commandments,
they are left by the Lord;
and being left by the Lord they become like pagans,
who have no religion;
and then the Lord is with those only, who will be of His New Church.

AR 729 - Love of dominion - from self? or from the love of use?

AR 729
It is called the love of dominating from the love of self,
because there is also a love of dominion from the love of uses,
which two loves are diametrically opposite to one another,
for the love of dominating from the love of self is diabolical,
for it regards itself only, and the world for the sake of self;
but the love of dominion from the love of uses is celestial,
for it regards the Lord, from whom all things which proceed are uses,
and uses to Him
consist in doing good to the church for the sake of the salvation of souls;
wherefore this love abominates the love of dominating from the love of self.

AR 725 - "purple and scarlet" and "gold, precious stones, and pearls,"

AR 725 [2-4]
. . . "purple and scarlet" are mentioned,
and then "gold, precious stones, and pearls,"
and by "purple and scarlet" is signified celestial Divine good and truth,
and by "gold and precious stones" spiritual Divine good and truth,
both from the Word . . .
the celestial kingdom consists of angels who are in love from the Lord,
and the spiritual kingdom of angels who are in wisdom from the Lord.
In both kingdoms there is good and truth;
the good and truth with the angels of the celestial kingdom
is signified by "purple and scarlet,"
and the good and truth with the angels of the spiritual kingdom
is signified by "gold and precious stones."
Both these goods and truths
the angels have from the Lord through the Word;
wherefore there are two interior senses of the Word,
the celestial and the spiritual.

Fine linen of needlework was that which you spread forth,
hyacinth and purple were your covering. (Ezekial 27:7)
This is said of Tyre,
by which the knowledges of truth and good from the Word are signified.

Since celestial good and truth are signified by "purple and scarlet,"
therefore the garments of Aaron,
as also the veils and curtains of the tabernacle,
were woven of hyacinth, purple, scarlet and fine linen
(Exodus 26:4, 31, 36; 27:16; 28:6, 15);
the curtains also (Exodus 26:1);
and the veil before the ark (Exodus 26:31);
the covering for the door of the tent (Exodus 26:36);
and the covering of the gate of the court (Exodus 27:16);
the ephod (Exodus 28:6);
the belt (Exodus 28:8);
the breastplate of judgment (Exodus 28:15);
the skirts of the cloak of the ephod (Exodus 28:33);
the cloth of scarlet over the bread of faces (Numbers 4:8).

AR 718 - and again . . .

AR 718
. . . a church is a church
from the Lord,
and from the Word,
and its perfection
is according to its acknowledgment of the Lord,
and according to its understanding of the Word.

AR 715 - to blaspheme God

AR 715
"To blaspheme" God
signifies to deny and not to acknowledge
the Lord alone to be the God of heaven and earth
and in like manner the truth of the Word . . .
The reason why they cannot acknowledge truths
on account of those falsities,
is because the confirmation of falsity is the denial of truth.

AR 689 - words of good and words of truth

AR 689
Now, since the Divine good of the Word
and the Divine truth of the Word make one,
therefore the signification of what was spoken by the angel of the waters
is similar to that which was spoken by the angel out of the altar;
for the angel of the waters said,
"Thou art just, O Lord, Who art, and Who wast, and art holy,
because Thou hast judged these things;"
but the angel out of the altar said,
"Yea, Lord God Almighty; true and just are Thy judgments."
Both these expressions have a similar signification,
but with this difference,
that one spoke from truth, and the other from good,
and one confirmed what the other spoke, but by different words;
one by words which belong to the class of truth,
and the other by words which belong to the class of good;
for there is a marriage of truth and good in every particular of the Word,
and there are words which relate to good,
and words which relate to truth,
which seem different,
but nevertheless involve things which are similar.

AR 629 - "giving glory to Him"

AR 629
. . . every truth, from which the church is a church, is from the Word . . .
. . . and that the church is from the Word,
and its quality is according to its understanding of the Word . . .

. . . because the angels of heaven perceive by "glory"
nothing else than the Divine truth,
and because all Divine truth is from the Lord,
by "giving glory to Him,"
they perceive to acknowledge and confess that all truth is from Him.
For all glory in the heavens is from no other source,
and so far as a society of heaven is in the Divine truth,
so far all things there are resplendent,
and so far the angels are in the splendor of glory.

AR 678 - evil and noxious sores (Revelation 16:2)

AR 678
By "a sore," here nothing else is signified
but evil originating in a life according to this head of doctrine,
that faith alone
without the works of the Law
justifies and saves . . .
by "an evil and noxious sore" are signified interior evils and falsities,
destructive of all good and truth in the church.
By "noxious" is signified what is destructive,
for evil cannot but destroy good, and falsity truth.

[2] . . . when a person rejects evil from himself,
he at the same time rejects its lusts;
but still not from himself, but from the Lord.
A person can indeed of himself reject evil, but not its lusts;
wherefore, when he wills to reject evil, by fighting against it,
he will look up to the Lord;
for the Lord operates from inmosts to ultimates,
for He enters through the soul of a person, and purifies him.