AE 859 - the 144,000

AE 859 [1,2]

And no one was able to learn the song
save the hundred forty-four thousand.
(Revelation 14:3)

signifies that acknowledgment and confession of the Lord
was possible only with those
who are in faith from charity,
or in truths from good.

. . . the Lord flows into the life of everyone;
and the life of heaven is from love or charity,
that is from good;
and the quality of love or charity is formed by truths.
From this, then, is man's life;
and therefore no other life
receives influx out of heaven from the Lord,
and thus acknowledges and confesses the Lord in heart,
than the life of faith from charity
or the life of truth from good.
The life of faith separated from charity
or the life of truth separated from good
is a merely natural life,
which receives nothing and can receive nothing from heaven,
because from that life
no communication with heaven is possible;
for communication with heaven is given
only through spiritual love,
which is also called charity,
that is, through a life according to truths from the Word;
and that life is not given with those
who separate faith from charity
and believe that they are saved by faith alone,
that is, by faith separated from good works.
Since, then, "the hundred forty-four thousand" mean
those who are in truths from good
or who are in faith from charity,
it is evident why they alone were able to learn the song,
that is, were able to acknowledge
and confess the Lord in heart,
namely, that He is the only God,
and that the trinity is in Him.