AE 687 - "to sit" from Psalm 1 to Easter morning

AE 687b [6, 9]

Blessed is the man that walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
and stands not in the way of sinners,
and sits not in the seat of the scornful.
(Psalm i. 1)

Here it is said, to walk, to stand, and to sit,
because these follow one another,
for to walk pertains to the life of thought from intention,
to stand pertains to the life of intention from the will,
and to sit to the life of the will, thus to the esse of the life.
Counsel also, of which to walk is said, regards the thought;
way, in which one is said to stand, regards intention,
while to sit in a seat refers to the will, which is the esse of a person's life.

Jesus said, Henceforth you will see
the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power,
and coming on the clouds of heaven.
(Matthew 26:63, 64; Mark 14:61, 62; Luke 22:69).

To sit on the right hand of power
signifies the Divine Omnipotence of the Lord
over the heavens and over the earths,
after He had subjugated the hells and glorified His Human.
To come on the clouds of heaven
signifies by means of Divine Truth in the heavens;
for after the Lord had united His Human with the Divine itself,
Divine Truth went forth from Him;
and He Himself is therein with angels and with people,
because He is in the Word, which is Divine Truth,
in which and from which is the Divine Omnipotence.

AE 687c [17-18]
That "to sit" is an expression
significative of the being and permanence of state of a thing and of life . . ..
"To sit before Jehovah" means to be with Him,
thus to will and to act from Him;
"to stand before Him" means to have regard for
and to understand what He wills;
and "to walk before Him" means to live according to His precepts,
thus from Him.

An angel of the Lord was seen sitting upon the stone
which he had rolled away from the entrance to the tomb.
(Matt. 28:2).

Angels were seen in the tomb,
sitting one at the head,
and the other at the feet.
(John 20:12; Mark 16:5).
These things seen were representative of the Lord's glorification,
and of introduction into heaven by Him;
for the "stone" that was placed before the sepulcher,
and that was rolled away by the angel,
signifies Divine truth, thus the Word,
which was closed up by the Jews, but opened by the Lord.
And as a "sepulcher," and preeminently the sepulcher where the Lord was,
signifies in the spiritual sense resurrection and also regeneration,
and "angels" signify in the Word Divine truth,
therefore angels were seen sitting one at the head and the other at the feet;
"the angel at the head" signifying Divine truth in things first,
and "the angel at the feet" Divine truth in ultimates,
both proceeding from the Lord;
and when Divine truth is received regeneration is effected,
and there is resurrection.

AE 684d - "Anoined"

AE 684d [31]
Jehovah will judge the ends of the earth,
and will give strength unto His King
and exalt the horn of His Anointed.
(1 Samuel 2:10)
This is a part of the prophetic song of Hannah, the mother of Samuel,
before there was any king or anointed over Israel,
therefore "King" and "Anointed" here mean the Lord,
to whom "is given strength" and whose "horn is exalted"
when the Divine is united to the Human,
"strength" signifying the power of good over evil,
and "horn" the power of truth over falsity,
and truth is said "to be exalted" when it becomes interior,
and in the same degree becomes more powerful.

[35] . . . "to anoint the Holy of Holies"
signifies to unite the Divine itself with the Human in the Lord,
for this is "the Holy of Holies."

AE 684a - "Lord" and "Christ"

AE 684a [2]
It is said that
"the kingdoms of the world are become our Lord's and His Christ's,"
and "Lord" here has the same meaning as
"Jehovah" in the Old Testament,
and "Father" in the New,
namely, the Lord in respect to the Divine Itself
and in respect to Divine good;
while "Christ" has the same meaning
as "God" in the Old Testament,
and "the Son of God" in the New,
namely the Lord in respect to the Divine Human
and also in respect to Divine truth . . .

AE 678 - the glory of the Lord

AE 678 [3]
. . . the glory of the Lord can be seen from this,
that the light of heaven,
from which is all wisdom, beauty, and magnificence in the heavens,
proceeds from the Lord as a sun,
and it is the Lord's Divine love that appears to the angels as a sun.
From this it is clear that the light of heaven,
which in its essence is Divine truth and Divine wisdom,
is the Divine love proceeding;
and as love desires nothing else than to give that which is its own to another,
thus to fill others with blessedness,
what will not the Divine love do?
Nevertheless, the Lord cannot give His glory to anyone
and fill him with wisdom and blessedness
unless he acknowledges and worships the Lord,
for it is by this that a person conjoins himself to the Lord by love and faith;
for in order that acknowledgment and worship
may be acknowledgment and worship,
it must be from love and faith;
and without conjunction by means of these
no good can flow in from the Lord,
because it is not received.

AE 677 - "to become afraid"

AE 677 [4]
In the Word "to become afraid," "to be dismayed,"
and like expressions are often used in reference
both to the good and to the evil,
and "terror" and "dismay" signify a state of the mind
disturbed and changed by an imminent or visible danger to the life;
but this is one thing with the good and another with the evil;
with the good it is a disturbance of mind and a change of state
from imminent and visible danger to the soul,
but with the evil it is from imminent and visible danger to the life of the body.
This is because the good regard the life of the soul
and not so much the life of the body as the chief and final thing,
while the evil regard the life of the body
and not so much the life of the soul as the chief and final thing . . .

AE 675a - possessing truths

AE 675a [7, 9]
. . . those who possess truths
both in the memory and in the life
enrich themselves in intelligence to eternity . . .

Those who do not acquire spiritual intelligence in the world
through the knowledges of truth and good from the Word are evil,
as can be seen from this,
that all are born into evils of every kind,
and these evils are removed only by means of Divine truths from the Word,
that is, by applying truths to uses,
and thus receiving them in the life.
So to those who have gained it is said:

Good and faithful servants,
ye have been faithful over a few things,
I will set you over many things;
enter ye into the joy of your Lord.
(Matthew 25:21, 23)

AE 670 - at the end of the old, a preservation for the new

AE 670 [2-4]
A few words shall be said to make known what in particular is involved in
"the going up into heaven of the two witnesses
that were slain and lived again."
(Revelation 11)
At the end of the church,
when there is no faith because there is no charity,
the interior things of the Word
which are to serve the New Church for doctrine and life are disclosed.
This was done by the Lord Himself,
when the end of the Jewish Church was at hand;
for the Lord Himself then came into the world
and opened the interiors of the Word,
especially those relating to Himself,
love to Him and love towards the neighbor, and faith in Him,
which before lay hidden in the interiors of the Word,
since they were in its representatives,
and so in the particular things of the church and of worship.
These truths, therefore,
that were disclosed by the Lord were interior truths,
and in themselves spiritual;
and these afterwards served the New Church for doctrine and life,
as has been said just above.
These truths, however, were not immediately received,
nor until after a considerable lapse of time,
as is well known from ecclesiastical history;
and for the reason that they could not be received
until all things in the spiritual world had been reduced to order;
for as the spiritual world is conjoined to the natural world with people,
so unless that world had been first reduced to order,
people in the natural world could not have understood
or perceived the goods of love and the truths of doctrine;
this is why so long a time intervened before the Christian Church
was universally established in the European world;
for all effects that exist in the natural world
derive their origin from causes in the spiritual world,
especially those that relate to the things of the church . . ..
[3] It was similar when the Most Ancient Church,
which was before the flood, came to its end,
for then the representatives of celestial things,
which existed among the most ancient people,
were gathered up into one body by those who were called "Enoch,"
and were preserved for the use of the New Church after the flood;
and this was called a representative church,
because its laws and statutes, and in general its worship,
consisted of representatives,
or of such things in the natural world as corresponded
to spiritual things in the spiritual world.
The like was done with these, that is,
they were separated from the evil
by being taken into heaven and thus protected,
and this till the old church came to its end,
when a New Church was to be established.
This is described by these words in Genesis:

And Enoch walked with God and he was no more,
for God took him.
(Genesis 5:24)

[4] The like is done at the present day.
This church, which is called Christian,
has at this day come to its end,
therefore the arcana of heaven and the church
have now been revealed by the Lord,
to serve as the doctrine of life and faith for the New Church,
which is meant by "the New Jerusalem" in Revelation.
This doctrine, too, has been taken up into heaven
lest harm be done to it by the evil
before the establishment of the New Church.
Such, therefore, is the signification of this respecting the two witnesses,
that "they went up into heaven;"
also of what follows in the next chapter,
where it treats of "the woman about to bring forth a child,"
before whom stood the dragon . . ..

AE 666 - feet

AE 666
. . . the signification of "feet," as being the natural,
which is the ultimate of Divine order,
and the base upon which prior or higher things rest,
and which they subsist . . .

[5] You have made my feet to stand in a broad place.
(Psalm 31:8)
"A broad place" signifies the truth of doctrine from the Word,
therefore "to make my feet to stand in a broad place"
signifies to cause one to live according to Divine truths . . .

Jehovah will not suffer your foot to totter.
(Psalm 121:3)
namely, that he will not suffer the natural to go astray from truths;
for so far as the natural goes astray,
so far the interiors which belong to the understanding and will,
also go astray.

AE 660 - "rejoice and be glad"

AE 660 [2]
It is said "rejoice and be glad" because of the marriage of good and truth;
for "joy" is predicated of good because it relates to love,
for it belongs especially to the heart and will,
and "gladness" is predicated of truth,
because it relates to the love of truth,
for it belongs especially to the mind and its thought;
therefore we speak of "joy of heart" and "gladness of mind."

. . . there is no good with anyone unless it is formed by truths,
nor is there truth with anyone unless it is made living by good;
for every truth is a form of good,
and all good is the being [esse] of truth . . .

AE 659d - a tent - the good of celestial love & genuine peace

AE 659d [18]
Thou shalt know that thy tent is peace . . .
(Job 5:24)
A "tent" signifies in the Word
the holiness of worship and the good of love,
because Divine worship in most ancient times was performed in tents;
and because their worship was from the good of celestial love,
a "tent" signifies also that good;
and since
there is genuine peace in celestial good
therefore it is said,
"Thou shalt know that they tent is peace."

AE 658 - point of view

AE 658
. . . everyone sees the things that are of the Lord,
and thus of heaven and the church,
according to what his state is,
since from that he sees;
consequently he can see no otherwise
than in accord with what that is.
Thus he who denies the Lord and His Divine
in heaven and in the church
sees them not,
because he sees from the negative . . .

AE 655a - two forms of capital punishment

AE 655a [3-4]
That the Jews who were at Jerusalem crucified the Lord
means that He was crucified
by the evils and falsities therefrom which they loved;
for all things recorded in the Word respecting the Lord's passion
represented the perverted state of the church with that nation.
For although they accounted the Word holy,
yet by their traditions they perverted all things therein
until there was no longer any Divine good or truth remaining with them,
and when Divine good and Divine truth,
which are in the Word, no longer remain,
evils and falsities from infernal love succeed in their place,
and these are what crucify the Lord.

As it is here said "where our Lord was crucified,"
it shall be told what "crucifixion"
(or hanging upon wood) signified with the Jews.
They had two modes of capital punishment, crucifixion and stoning;
and "crucifixion" signified a condemnation and curse
because of the destruction of good in the church,
and "stoning" signified a condemnation and curse
because of the destruction of truth in the church.
"Crucifixion" signified a condemnation and curse
because of the destruction of good in the church,
for the reason that "wood," upon which they were hung,
signified good, and in the contrary sense evil,
both pertaining to the will;
and "stoning" signified a condemnation and curse
because of the destruction of truth in the church,
for the reason that "the stone," with which they were stoned,
signified truth, and in the contrary sense falsity,
both pertaining to the understanding . . .

AE 654k - the process

AE 654k [63-64]
In a word, a person must first enrich the memory with knowledges,
afterwards by these his understanding must be cultivated,
and finally the will.
The memory belongs to the natural person,
the understanding to the rational,
and the will to the spiritual.
This is the way of a person's reformation and regeneration.
This is why the sons of Israel were first led into Egypt,
afterwards into the wilderness to undergo temptations,
and finally into the land of Canaan, for as has been said,
they were to represent the church from its first rise to its last end.
Their abiding and sojourning in Egypt
represented the instruction of the natural person;
their wanderings forty years in the wilderness
represented the temptations by which the rational person is formed;
and the land of Canaan, into which they were finally brought,
represented the church, which regarded in itself is spiritual.

[64] But they who are not willing to be reformed and regenerated
stop at the first stage, and remain natural;
and this is why the sons of Israel, who were not willing,
so often desired to return to Egypt
(which desire of theirs is frequently mentioned in the book of Exodus);
for they were natural, and were scarcely capable of becoming spiritual,
and yet they were to represent those things
that belong to the spiritual church;
for this reason they were led into Egypt,
and afterwards into the wilderness,
and finally into the land of Canaan,
thus representing the rise, progress,
and final establishment of the church with a person.
This makes clear why the sons of Israel
were so strongly forbidden to return into Egypt;
for by so doing they would have represented
that from being spiritual people they had become natural,
and when a spiritual person becomes natural
he no longer sees any truths and does not perceive any goods,
but falls into falsities and evils of every kind.

AE 654j - when servants rule over us

AE 654j [61]
. . . as the things belonging to the natural person
are relatively things of service,
since the natural person was created to serve the spiritual,
therefore when the natural rules over the spiritual,
servants have dominion,
and this is what is meant by
"servants rule over us,
there is no one to set us free from their hands."
(Lamentations 5:8)

AE 654f,g - the natural and the spiritual

654f [32]
Because all knowledges [scientifica]
that are serviceable to the spiritual person for the confirming of truths
are from the Lord, that is, all application of them
to confirm the truths and goods of heaven and the church so:

Joseph was carried down into Egypt,
and was there made ruler over the whole land.
(Genesis 41)

For "Joseph" in the highest sense
means the Lord in relation to the Divine spiritual,
and consequently, also the truth of doctrine,
which is based upon the knowledges [scientifica] of the natural person;
and as the natural person, or the natural of a person,
must be subordinate to the spiritual,
that it may be serviceable in confirming
and executing the decisions of the spiritual person,
therefore Joseph, that this dominion might be represented,
was made ruler over Egypt,
and under his direction Egypt had crops or corn in abundance,
so that the neighboring countries were supplied therefrom,
even the land of Canaan itself.


654g [38]
. . . all evils and all falsities therefrom
that pervert and destroy the truths and goods of the church
flow forth from the natural person separated from the spiritual.

AE 654c - to be instructed

AE 654c [15-16]
Jacob with his sons, who were then called the sons of Israel,
went down by command into Egypt,
and dwelt in Goshen,
which was the best of the lands of Egypt,
and there remained a long time.
(Gen. 46, et seq.)
This was done because a person must be instructed in truths
scientifically and naturally before he is instructed spiritually.

[16] For every person, by truths scientifically and naturally understood,
acquires for himself a rational
into which the spiritual can flow in and operate;
for through the rational which belongs to his understanding
a person receives the light of heaven, which is spiritual light,
and through the rational enlightened by the spiritual
he surveys cognitions and knowledges,
selecting from them such as are in accord
with the genuine truths and goods of heaven and the church,
which are spiritual,
and rejecting those that are not;
thus it is that a person lays the foundation of the church in himself.

. . ."to sojourn" in the Word signifies to be instructed.

AE 653a, b - the love of self

AE 653a
. . . the evils of the love of self and the the falsities of doctrine
are what crucify the Lord . . .

[2] . . the more a person loves himself
the more he despises, yea, denies spiritual things.

AE 653b [9]
. . . no one rejects the holy things of the church
and denies the Divine of the Lord
more interiorly than those do who are in the love of self;
those who are in the love of the world and in the evils therefrom
may reject the holy things of the church, but not so interiorly,
that is, form the confirmation of the heart.

AE 652c - rain

AE 652c [20]
God, who gives rain upon the faces of the earth,
and who sends waters upon the faces of the streets.
(Job 5:10)
"To give rain upon the faces of the earth"
signifies the influx of Divine truth
into all things with those who are of the church;
and "to send waters upon the faces of the streets"
signifies Divine influx into the truths of doctrine,
that a person may be rendered spiritual thereby.

AE 650g - in the wilderness

AE 650g [70]
The spirit urging Jesus caused Him to go into the wilderness,
and He was in the wilderness forty days;
and He was with the beasts,
and angels ministered unto Him.
(Mark 1:12, 13)

The Lord's being in the wilderness forty days
represented the duration of all those most direful temptations
which He, above all others in the whole world, endured and withstood;
for "forty days" signify the entire period and duration of temptations,
thus not that He was tempted at that time only,
but from childhood even to the end of His life in the world;
His last temptation was in Gethsemane.
For by temptations He subjugated all the hells and also glorified His Human.
Because temptations arise through evil spirits and genii
who are from hell, thus through the hells,
from which evils and falsities and their cupidities and lusts arise,
so the "beasts" here, with which the Lord was, do not mean beasts,
but the hells and the evils that rise out of them;
and the "angels" who ministered unto Him do not mean angels,
but Divine truths,
through which from His own power He overcame and subjugated the hells.

AE 650f - reorganization

AE 650f [60]
. . . if evils and the consequent falsities were removed all at once
a person would have scarcely any life,
since the life into which he is born
is a life of evil and consequent falsity from cupidities,
which are removed only so far as goods and truths enter,
for by these they are removed.

AE 650b - "beast", "wild beast", animal person

AE 650b [9]
. . . in the Word "beast" and "wild beast" are carefully distinguished,
"beasts" signifying the affections of the natural person
that belong to a person's will,
and "wild beasts" the affections of the natural person
that belong to a person's understanding.

AE 650 [17]
What is exterior or natural is signified by "beast,"
because a person, in respect to his external or natural
a person is nothing but a beast;
for he enjoys like desires and also pleasures, appetites and senses,
so that in these respects a person is entirely similar to the beast;
therefore the natural person may be called the animal person.
But what is internal or spiritual is signified by "person,"
because it is in respect to his internal or spiritual
that a person is a person;
this enjoys the affections of good and truth
such as are with the angels of heaven,
also because by means of this with him
a person rules his natural or animal person, which is a beast.

AE 650a - Psalm 68:9,10

AE 650a [7]
O God, You make the rain of good will to drop down;
You shall strengthen Your inheritance when it is weary;
Your wild beast (Your congregation) shall dwell in it.
(Psalm 68:9,10)

Here evidently "wild beast" stands for a people
that receives the influx of Divine truth from the Lord . . .
"the rain of good will"
signifies the influx of Divine truth from Divine clemency.

AE 646 , 647 - our choices

AE 646 [2]
. . . those who do not acknowledge and confess the Lord
are unable to receive any good of love or truth of faith;
for by non-acknowledgment and denial
they shut heaven to themselves, that is,
they reject all the influx of good and truth from heaven,
or through heaven from the Lord . . .

AE 647 [2]
. . . the Lord God is not the cause of evil with anyone,
and he who is not the cause of evil is not the cause of punishment,
but the evil itself that is with a person is the cause.

AE 644d - receiving the Lord

AE 644d [24]
...he that receives the words of the Lord,
that is, Divine truths,
in one part of the mind only,
which is that of the thought or understanding,
and not at the same time in the other part,
which is that of the affection or will,
yields in temptations,
and falls into grievous falsities, which are the falsities of evil . . .
but he who receives Divine truths in both parts,
that is, both in the understanding and in the will,
conquers in temptations.

AE 461 - the progression

AE 461 [4]
The church, from the most ancient times to the end of the Jewish Church,
progressed like a person who is conceived, born, and grows up,
and is then instructed and taught;
but the successive states of the church after the end of the Jewish Church,
or from the time of the Lord even to the present day,
have been like a person increasing in intelligence and wisdom,
or becoming regenerate.
For this end the interior things of the Word, of the church, and of worship,
were revealed by the Lord when He was in the world;
and now again, things still more interior are revealed;
and in the measure that things interior are revealed
can a person become wiser;
for to become interior is to become wiser,
and to become wiser is to become interior.

AE 638a - being and existence

AE 638a [2]
. . . there are two things that make a one,
namely, good and truth;
good is not good except it be from truth,
and truth is not truth except it be from good;
consequently it is only when these two make a one
that they have being and existence.

AE 637a - "Clothed in sackcloth" (Revelation 11:3)

AE 637a
Clothed in sackcloth,
(Revelation 11:3)
signifies in mourning
because of the non-reception of Divine good and Divine truth.
. . . here because of their non-reception;
for the witnesses were seen clothed in sackcloth,
and they signify the Divine good,
from which is every good of love and charity,
and the Divine truth,
from which is every truth of doctrine and faith;
these appear to be in mourning when they are not received,
but in joy when they are received.

AE 632 - the holy city

AE 632
And the holy city shall they trample down
(Revelation 11:2)
. . . "the holy city" signifies the doctrine of Divine truth,
for Divine truth is what is called "holy" in the Word.

AE 630a - three distinct senses

AE 630a [2]
The Word and worship are altogether as heaven and the church are;
for as there are three heavens,
so in the Word there are three distinct senses:
the inmost sense, which is called the celestial sense,
is for the inmost or third heaven;
the middle sense, which is called the spiritual sense,
is for the middle or second heaven;
and the ultimate sense,
which is called the celestial-natural and spiritual-natural sense,
is for the lowest or first heaven.
These three senses, besides the natural which is for the world,
are in the Word and in all its particulars;
and as the three heavens have the Word
and each heaven is in its own sense of the Word,
and from this is their heaven and also their worship,
it follows that what signifies heaven signifies also the Word and worship.

AE 629c - only the Lord

AE 629c [14]
. . . it is permissible to everyone
to think about the moral and civil life of another,
and to judge of it;
without such thought and judgment concerning others
no civil society could subsist;
therefore "not to judge and condemn"
signifies not to think evil of the neighbor spiritually understood,
that is, of his faith and love, which belong to a person's spiritual life,
for these lie concealed in his interiors,
and therefore are unknown to anyone except the Lord alone.

AE 627 [5] - Divine Truth

AE 627 [5]
Divine Truth in its descent proceeds according to degrees,
from the highest or inmost to the lowest or ultimate.
Divine Truth in the highest degree
is such as the Divine is that goes forth immediately from the Lord,
thus the Divine Truth above the heavens,
and this, being infinite, cannot come to the perception of any angel.
But the Divine Truth of the first degree
is that which comes to the perception of the angels
of the inmost or third heaven,
and is called the celestial Divine Truth;
from this comes the wisdom of those angels.
The Divine Truth of the second degree
is that which comes to the perception of the angels
of the middle or second heaven,
and is the cause of their wisdom and intelligence;
it is called spiritual Divine Truth.
The Divine Truth of the third degree
is that which comes to the perception of the angels
of the ultimate or first heaven,
and is the source of their intelligence and knowledge (scientia);
it is called celestial-natural and spiritual natural Divine Truth.
But the Divine Truth of the fourth degree
is that which comes to the perception
of the people of the church living in the world;
it is the source of their intelligence and knowledge;
this is called natural Divine Truth,
and the ultimate of this is called sensual Divine Truth.