AC 2364 - The Lord Bends or Turns Us

AC 2364

For all are bent (or turned) by the Lord
to the good of life through the good of their faith.
Gentiles are so directed
in a different way from Christians;
the simple in a different way from the learned;
and young children in a different way from adults.
People whose lives have been stained by evil
are bent (or turned) by means of
their refraining from evil and intending good,
which they carry out
according to whatever understanding they possess.
It is the intention or the end in view
present with them that is observed,
and even though their actions
are not in themselves good,
their end in view provides them
with some measure of good
and of the life flowing from it
which constitutes their blessedness.

~ Surely . . . ~

The Lord is my shepherd,
I shall not be in want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures,
He leads me beside quiet waters,
He restores my soul.
He guides me in the paths of righteousness
for His name's sake.
even though I walk
through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for You are with me;
You rod and Your staff,
they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
forever.

(Psalm 23)

AC 2351 - What Anger Does, What Zeal Does

AC 2351 [2]

The cause of anger
is all that which endeavors to destroy
the delight of any love.
It is called "anger" when evil attacks good,
but "zeal" when good reproves evil.

~ The Law of the Lord ~

The law of the Lord is perfect,
reviving the soul
The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy,
making wise the simple.
The precepts of the Lord are right,
giving joy to the heart.
The commands of the Lord are radiant,
giving light to the eyes.
The fear of the Lord is pure,
enduring forever.
the ordinances of the Lord are sure
and altogether righteous.
They are more precious than gold,
than much pure gold;
they are sweeter than honey
than honey from the comb.
By them is Your servant warned;
in keeping them there is great reward.

. . . May the words of my mouth
and the meditation of my heart
be pleasing in Your heart sight,
O Lord, my Rock and my redeemer.

(Psalm 19:7-14)

AC 2379 - Love and Light

AC 2379 [2]

All the people from the uttermost part.
(Genesis 19:4)

Here then there is described
the first state of those within the church
who are against the good of charity,
and consequently against the Lord,
for the one involves the other,
because no one can be conjoined with the Lord
except through love and charity.
Love is spiritual conjunction itself,
as can be seen from the essence of love;
and whoever cannot be conjoined with Him,
also cannot acknowledge Him.
That they who are not in good
cannot acknowledge the Lord,
that is, have faith in Him, is evident in John:

The light is come into the world,
but men loved the darkness rather than the light,
because their works were evil;
for everyone that does evil hates the light,
and comes not to the light,
lest his works should be reproved;
but he that does the truth
comes to the light,
that his works may be made manifest,
because they have been wrought in God.
(John 3:19-21)

From which it is evident
that those who are against the good of charity
are against the Lord;
or what is the same,
that those who are in evil hate the light,
and do not come to the light.

~ Trust ~

. . . I trust in Your unfailing love;
my heart rejoices in Your salvation.
I will sing to the Lord,
for He has been good to me.

(Psalm 13:5-6)

AC 2334 - Doubt; AC 2343 - Salvation

AC 2334

All temptation entails feelings of doubt
regarding the Lord's presence and mercy,
regarding salvation,
and other things such as these;
for people who experience temptation
suffer mental distress,
even to the point of despair,
in which state they are kept for the most part
so that at length
they may be confirmed in the conviction
that all things are subject to the Lord's mercy,
that they are saved through Him alone,
and that with themselves there is nothing but evil -
convictions in which they are strengthened
through conflicts in which they are victorious.
Remaining from temptation after this is over,
there are further states of truth and good
to which their thoughts . . .
can subsequently be turned to the Lord.

AC 2343 [3]

Truth and good agree,
but truth and evil never:
they are of a contrary nature,
and are averse one to the other.
For this reason, so far as a person is in good,
so far he can be in truth;
or so far as he is in charity,
so far he can be in faith;
especially in this chief point of faith,
that all salvation is from the Lord.

~ The Lord Is a Refuge Who Reigns Forever ~

I will praise You, O Lord, with all my heart;
I will tell of all Your wonders.
I will be glad and rejoice in You;
I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High.

My enemies turn back;
they stumble and perish before You.
For you have upheld my right and my cause;
You have sat on Your throne,
judging righteously.
You have rebuked the nations
and destroyed the wicked . . ..

The Lord reigns forever;
He has established His throne for judgment.
He will judge the world in righteousness;
He will govern the peoples with justice.

The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed,
a stronghold in times of trouble.
those who know Your name will trust in You,
for You, Lord,
have never forsaken those who seek You.

(Psalm 9:1-4, 7-10)

AC 2332 - When the Lord Presents Himself; AC 2333 - The Internal Sense When We Read His Word

AC 2332

. . . when the Lord presents Himself
to the view of any person, or even of any angel,
He miraculously moderates and tempers
the Holy that proceeds from Him,
so that they may be able to endure it;
or what is the same,
He applies Himself to their natural.
This then is what is meant in the internal sense
by these words which Lot said to the angels:
"Wash your feet."
And this shows what the nature is
of the internal sense,
for that this is the meaning cannot be seen
from the sense of the letter.

AC 2333

And in the morning you shall rise and go on your way.
(Genesis 19:2)

In the Word "morning" means the Lord's kingdom
and whatever belongs to the Lord's kingdom,
thus principally the good of love and of charity . . .;
and a "way" means truth;
for which reason it is said
that after they had been in his house
and had passed the night there
(by which is meant that they had an abode
in the good of charity that was with him),
they should "rise in the morning and go on their way,"
by which is meant being thereby thus confirmed
in good and truth.

From this, as from other passages,
it is evident how remote from the sense of the letter,
and consequently how much unseen,
is the internal sense,
especially in the historical parts of the Word;
and that it does not come to view
unless the meaning of every word
is unfolded in accordance with
its constant meaning in the Word.
On this account,
when the ideas are kept in the sense of the letter,
the internal sense appears . . .
as something obscure and dark;
but on the other hand
when the ideas are kept in the internal sense,
the sense of the letter appears in like manner obscure,
indeed to the angels as nothing.
For the angels are no longer
in worldly and corporeal things,
like those of people,
but in spiritual and celestial things,
into which the words of the sense of the letter
are wonderfully changed,
when it ascends from a person
who is reading the Word
to the sphere in which the angels are,
that is, to heaven;
and this from the correspondence
of spiritual things with worldly,
and of celestial things with corporeal.
This correspondence is most constant,
but its nature has not yet been disclosed until now
in the unfolding of the meaning
of the words, names, and numbers in the Word,
as to the internal sense.

~ Take Refuge in the Lord ~

But let all who take refuge in You be glad;
let them ever sing for joy.
Spread Your protection over them,
that those who love Your name may rejoice in You.
For surely, O Lord, You bless the righteous;
You surround them with Your favor as with a shield.

(Psalm 5:11-12)

AC 2321 - The Lord's Holy; AC 2327 - True Humiliation vs. the Love of Self

AC 2321

The human race could no longer have been saved
unless the Lord had come into the world and had united
the Divine Essence to the Human Essence;
for without the Lord's Human made Divine
salvation could no longer have reached to people.
The Holy Itself
that proceeds from the Lord's Divine Human
is that which separates the evil from the good;
for the evil so fear and shudder at the Lord's Holy
that they cannot approach it,
but flee far away from it into their hells,
each one according to the profaneness that is in him.

AC 2327 [2-3]

. . . the state of true humiliation,
which is possible to no one
unless they acknowledge that of themselves
they are profane and condemned,
and thus that they cannot of themselves look to the Lord,
where there is nothing but what is Divine and Holy;
on which account,
so far as a person is in self-acknowledgment,
so far he can be in true humiliation,
and in adoration when in worship.
For in all worship there must be humiliation;
and if this is separated therefrom,
there is nothing of adoration,
thus nothing of worship.

That the state of humiliation
is the essential state of worship itself,
comes from the fact
that so far as the heart is humbled,
so far the love of self and all the evil therefrom ceases;
and so far as this ceases,
so far good and truth, that is,
charity and faith,
flow in from the Lord;
for that which stands in the way
of the reception of these
is principally the love of self,
in which there is contempt for others
in comparison with one's self;
hatred and revenge if self is not treated with honor;
and also unmercifulness and cruelty;
thus the worst evils of all;
and into these
good and truth can in no wise be introduced,
for they are opposites.

 

** Thanks and Praise to the Lord ** (11/25)

I thank and praise you,
God of my ancestors:
You have given me wisdom and power,
You have made known to me what we asked of you,
You have made known to us the dream of the king.

(Daniel 2:23)

AC 2310, 2311 - The Two Senses of the Word: Internal & Literal

 AC 2320 [1-2]

The Internal Sense of the Word
has already been treated of many times;
but I am aware that few can believe
that there is such a sense in everything of the Word,
not only in the prophetical,
but also in the historical parts.
That there is such a sense in the prophetical parts
can more easily be believed,
because in them
there is not so connected a series of things,
and there are also strange expressions in them,
from which everyone may conjecture
that they contain within them
some secret meaning.
But that there is also
such a sense in the historical parts,
does not so easily appear,
both because before now
this has not come into anyone's mind,
and because the historical parts are such
as to keep the attention fixed on themselves,
and thereby to draw away the mind from thinking
that anything of a deeper nature
is stored up there;
and also because the historicals
are truly such as related.

Nevertheless no one can fail to infer
that within these parts of the Word
there also is what is heavenly and Divine,
and which does not shine forth;
first, from the fact
that the Word was sent down by the Lord
through heaven to humankind,
and therefore differs in its origin
(and what the nature of this origin is,
and that it is so different and distant
from the literal sense
as not even to be seen,
and consequently not acknowledged,
by those who are merely worldly,
will be shown by many things in what follows);
secondly, from the fact that the Word, being Divine,
has not been written for people only,
but also for the angels with a person,
in order that it might serve
not only for use to the human race,
but also for use to heaven;
and that in this way
the Word is a medium uniting heaven and earth.
This union takes place by means of the church,
and in fact by means of the Word in the church,
which is for this reason
such as it is,
and is distinguished from all other writing.


AC 2311

This twofold sense of the Word
is circumstanced as are the body and the soul;
the literal sense is like the body,
and the internal sense is like the soul;
and as the body lives by means of the soul,
so does the literal sense by means of the internal sense.
Through the internal sense
the Lord's life inflows into the literal sense,
in accordance with the affection of who is reading it.
From this it is evident how holy is the Word,
although it does not appear so to worldly minds.

** Thanks and Praise to the Lord ** (11/24)

Lord, you are my God;
I will exalt You and praise Your name,
for in perfect faithfulness
You have done wonderful things,
things planned long ago.

(Isaiah 25:1)

AC 2289. 2290. 2295 - Little Children in the Other Life

AC 2289

. . . all young children in any part of the world who die
are raised up by the Lord and taken to heaven,
where they are brought up and trained among angels
who look after them,
and where they grow to maturity
as they advance in intelligence and wisdom.
From this it becomes clear
how vast the Lord's heaven is
from young children alone;
for all of them are taught about the truths of faith
and the goods that stem from mutual love,
and become angels.

AC 2290

. . . on several occasions, in the Lord's Divine mercy,
groups of young children have been sent to me,
and I have been allowed
to read the Lord's Prayer to them.
As I did so I was given to perceive
how the angels whose company they were in
were instilling into their tender and newly-formed ideas
the meaning of the things
that are in the Lord's Prayer --
filling their ideas with it in the measure
that the young children were able to receive it --
and after that how the young children were given
the capacity to think about things such as these
as if from themselves.

AC 2295

Moreover the little children who are in the other life
are sometimes sent by the Lord
to little children on earth
(although the little child on earth is quite unaware of it),
and those little ones of heaven
are in the highest degree delighted
with these little ones of earth.

** Thanks and Praise to the Lord ** (11/23)

Surely God is my salvation;
I will trust and not be afraid.
The Lord, the Lord, is my strength and my song;
He has become my salvation.
With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.

In that day you will say:

“Give thanks to the Lord,
call on His name;
make known among the nations what He has done,
and proclaim that His name is exalted.
Sing to the Lord,
for He has done glorious things;
let this be known to all the world.
Shout aloud and sing for joy,
people of Zion.

(Isaiah 12:2-5)

AC 2284 - Remains and the Life of Charity

AC 2284 [2-3, 5]

It is well known
that there is nothing good and nothing true,
except from the Lord;
and also that what is good and true
is continually inflowing from the Lord into a person,
but that it is received in various ways,
and in accordance with the life of evil,
and in accordance with the principles of falsity
in which the person has confirmed himself.
These are what either quench, or stifle, or pervert
the goods and truths that are continually flowing in
from the Lord.
Lest therefore goods
should be commingled with evils,
and truths with falsities
(for if they were commingled
the person would perish eternally),
the Lord separates them,
and stores up in his interior person
the goods and truths which the person receives;
consequently, He will never permit them to come forth
so long as the person is in evil and falsity,
but only at such a time as he is in a holy state,
or in some anxiety, sickness, or other trouble.
These things
which the Lord has thus stored up with person
are what are called "remains,"
of which very much mention is made in the Word;
but it has not yet been known to anyone
that this is what they mean.

According to the quality and quantity of the remains --
that is, of the good and truth with a person --
does he enjoy bliss and happiness in the other life;
for, as has been said,
these remains are stored up in his interior person,
and they are opened at the time
when the person has left
corporeal and worldly things behind.
The Lord alone knows
the quality and extent of the remains in a person;
the person himself cannot possibly know this,
for at the present day
a person is of such a character
that he is able to counterfeit what is good,
while within there is nothing but evil;
and a person may also appear to be evil
and yet have good within.
On this account no person is ever allowed to judge
concerning the quality of the spiritual life of another,
for the Lord alone, as before said, knows this;
but everyone may judge of another
in regard to the quality of his moral and civil life,
for this concerns society.

The life of charity
consists in thinking kindly of another,
and in wishing him well;
and in perceiving joy in oneself from the fact
that others also are saved.
But those have not the life of charity
who desire that none should be saved
except those who believe as they do;
and especially is this the case
with those who are indignant that it is otherwise.
This may be seen from the mere fact
that more from the Gentiles are saved
than from Christians;
for those Gentiles
who have thought kindly of their neighbor
and have wished well to him,
receive the truths of faith in the other life
better than those who are called Christians,
and acknowledge the Lord more than Christians do.
For nothing is more delightful and blessed to the angels
than to instruct those
who come from the earth into the other life.

** Thanks and Praise to the Lord ** (11/22)

Great is our Lord and mighty in power;
His understanding has no limit.
The Lord sustains the humble
but casts the wicked to the ground.
Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving;
make music to our God on the harp.

(Psalm 147:7)

AC 2272 - "Peradventure Forty Shall Be Found There"

AC 2272

And he said, Peradventure forty shall be found there.
(Genesis 18:29)

That this means those who have been in temptation,
is evident from the meaning of the number forty,
as being temptations.
. . . Temptations take place to the end
not only that the person may be confirmed in truths,
but also
that truths may be more closely conjoined with goods;
for a person is then battling for truths against falsities,
and as he is then in interior distress and in torment,
the delights of the life of greedy evils (cupidities)
and their derivative pleasures come to a cessation;
and then goods flow in from the Lord,
the consequence of which is
that evils are at the same time regarded as abominable,
and the effect of this is
new thoughts of a nature contrary
to those possessed before,
to which the person may afterwards be bent,
thus from evils to goods,
and these goods be conjoined with truths.
And as the conjunction of good with truth
is effected by means of temptations,
and as it has been said in a former verse
that those would be saved
with whom goods can be conjoined with truths,
therefore there follows what is here said;
and indeed in such words as to mean
that goods and truths can be conjoined
by means of temptations.
This is the connection of the subject matters
for those who are in the internal sense.

** Thanks and Praise to the Lord ** (11/21)

The Lord upholds all those who fall
and lifts up all who are bowed down.
The eyes of all look to You,
and You give them their food at the proper time.
You open Your hand
and satisfy the desires of every living thing.

The Lord is righteous in all His ways
and loving toward all He has made.
The Lord is near to all who call on Him,
to all who call on Him in truth.
He fulfills the desires of those who fear Him;
He hears their cry and saves them.
The Lord watches over all who love Him,
and all the wicked He will destroy.

My mouth will speak in praise of the Lord.
Let every creature praise His holy name
for ever and ever.

(Psalm 145:14-21)

AC 2269 - The Conjunction of Goods and Truths

AC 2269 [3]

The more genuine and pure truth is,
the better the good from the Lord is able
to be accommodated to it as the recipient vessel;
but the less genuine and pure truth is,
the less is good from the Lord able to be accommodated.
For they must each answer to the other;
and to the extent that they do,
they are joined together.
Goods cannot possibly be received into falsities,
nor evils into truths as their recipient vessels,
for they are by nature and disposition contrary.
The one rejects the other as its very enemy;
indeed if they tried to join together,
each of them would throw up --
good would throw up evil as though it were poison,
and evil would throw up good
as though it were something that induces vomiting.
Such enmity between evil and good
has been provided by the Lord
to prevent the possibility of their being mixed together,
for if they were so mixed
a person would perish.
Those who are deceivers and hypocrites
come near to having the two joined together in them;
yet even in their case
the Lord takes care to prevent them
becoming joined together.
This is the reason why in the next life
deceivers and hypocrites
suffer more dreadfully than all others.

 

** Thanks and Praise to the Lord ** (11/20)

O give thanks unto the Lord,
for He is good:
His mercy endures forever.

(Psalm 136:1)

 

AC 2261 - The Life of Salvation

AC 2261

It may be supposed that a person cannot but be saved
if truths are full of goods.
But be it known
that there are very few truths with a person,
and that if there are any,
they have no life unless there are goods in them;
and that if there are goods in them,
he is saved,
but from Mercy.
For, as before said,
the truths with a person are very few;
and the goods which are in them
have their quality in accordance with the truths,
and the person's life.

Regarded in themselves,
truths do not give life.
It is goods that give life.
Truths are only recipients of life, that is, of good.
And therefore no one can ever say
that he can be saved by truths
(or as the common expression is, by faith alone),
unless there is good in the truths which are of faith,
and this good that must be in the truths
must be the good of charity;
so faith itself, in the internal sense,
is nothing else than charity.
As regards people's saying
that the acknowledgment of truth
is the faith that saves,
be it known that with those
who live in things contrary to charity,
there cannot possibly be any acknowledgment
but only persuasion,
to which there has been adjoined
the life of the love of self or of the world;
thus in the acknowledgment they refer to there
is not the life of faith, which is that of charity.
The worst people of all --
from the love of self or the world,
that is, for the sake of being eminent above others
in what is called intelligence and wisdom,
and thus of winning honors, reputation, and gains --
can learn the truths of faith,
and confirm them by many things;
but still with them these truths are dead.

The life of truth, and thus of faith,
is solely from the Lord, who is life itself.
The Lord's life is mercy,
which is that of love toward the universal human race.
In the Lord's life
those can in no wise have part
who although they profess the truths of faith
despise others in comparison with themselves,
and who, when their life
of the love of self and of the world is touched,
hold the neighbor in hatred,
and take delight
in his loss of wealth, of honor, of reputation, and of life.
But the case with the truths of faith
is that by means of them a person is regenerated,
for they are the veriest vessels recipient of good.
Such therefore as are the truths,
and such as are the goods in the truths,
and such as is their conjunction
and the consequent capability of being perfected
in the other life,
such is the state
of blessedness and happiness after death.

** Thanks and Praise to the Lord ** (11/19)

Praise be to You, O Lord;
teach me Your decrees.
With my lips I recount all the laws
that come from Your mouth.
I rejoice in following Your statutes
as one rejoices in great riches.
I meditate on Your precepts
and consider Your ways.
I delight in Your decrees;
I will not neglect Your word.

(Psalm 119:12-16)

AC 2250

The Lord's intercession for the human race
existed at the time when He was in the world,
and in fact when He was in a state of humiliation,
for as before said,
He then spoke with Jehovah as with another.
But of course in His state of glorification
when the Human Essence
has become united to the Divine Essence,
and is itself also Jehovah,
He does not intercede,
but has mercy
and affords aid from His Divine, and saves.
It is Mercy itself which is the intercession,
for such is its essence.

AC 2258 [2-3]

. . . there are two things which constitute
the order of the universal heaven,
and thence in the universe,
namely, Good and Truth.
Good is the essential of order,
all the things of which are mercies.
Truth is the secondary of order,
all the things of which are truths.
The Divine good adjudges all to heaven,
but the Divine truth condemns all to hell;
and therefore unless the Lord's Mercy,
which is of good,
were eternal,
all people, however many, would be condemned.
This is what is meant by the statement
that the Divine good cannot do this
after the manner of truth separated from good.

That the evil are nevertheless condemned to hell,
is not because
the Divine good is separated from the Divine truth,
but because the person separates himself
from the Divine good.
For the Lord in no case sends anyone down into hell,
but the person sends himself,
as has been already stated a number of times.
In the following respect also
the Divine good is conjoined with the Divine truth:
that unless the evil were separated from the good,
the evil would do harm to the good,
and would be continually endeavoring to destroy order:
thus that the good may not be harmed,
is of Mercy.
This stands just as in the kingdoms of the earth.
If evils were not punished,
the whole kingdom would be infected with evils,
and so would perish;
for which reason
kings and judges show more mercy
in punishing evils and in expelling from society
those guilty of them,
than by exercising in their behalf
an unseasonable clemency.

** Thanks and Praise to the Lord ** (11/18)

You are my God,
and I will give You thanks;
You are my God,
and I will exalt You.

Give thanks to the Lord,
for He is good;
His love endures forever.
(Psalm 118:28-29)

AC 2249 - Of Great Importance; AC 2253 - The Lord's Pure Love

AC 2249 [1-2]

. . . in this chapter in the internal sense
the state of the Lord's thought and perception
is so fully described,
and at the beginning
the state of the conjunction
of the Lord's Human with His Divine,
will possibly appear to a person
as if it were not of so much importance.

And yet it is of the greatest moment;
for before the angels,
to whom the internal sense is the Word,
these things are presented to the life,
together with their representatives,
in a most beautiful form;
besides numberless things that follow from them
and bear their likeness,
concerning the Lord's conjunction with heaven,
and the reception of His Divine in their human;
for the ideas of angels are such
that they relish such things above all others,
and perceive them as being most pleasant;
and they are also enlightened and confirmed by them
more and more in regard to the union of
the Lord's Human Essence with His Divine Essence . . ..

AC 2253

With the Lord, when He was in the world,
there was no other life
than the life of love toward the universal human race,
which He ardently desired to eternally save.
This is the truest celestial life,
by which He united Himself to the Divine,
and the Divine to Himself --
for Esse itself, or Jehovah,
is nothing else than Mercy,
which is of love to the universal human race --
and that life was one of pure love,
which is never possible with any person.
Those who do not know what life is,
and that the life is such as the love,
do not comprehend this.
This shows that insofar as anyone loves his neighbor,
insofar he partakes of the Lord's life.

** Thanks and Praise to the Lord ** (11/17)

This is the day the Lord has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.

(Psalm 118:24)

AC 2245 - The Men Visiting Abraham

AC 2245

The men looked forth from there.
(Genesis 18:22)

That this signifies the Lord's thought from the Divine,
is evident from the meaning of "looking forth,"
as being to think
(for to "see," in the internal sense,
as in common discourse, is to understand,
since understanding is internal sight,
and in the same way to "look forth" is to think,
which is of the internal sight,
that is, of the understanding);
and also from the meaning of "the men,"
as being the Divine.
In this chapter throughout
mention is sometimes made of "the men,"
and sometimes of "Jehovah" instead of "the men:"
when mention is made of "the men"
there is meant a Trine, namely,
the Divine Itself, the Divine Human, and the Proceeding.
The Lord's thought from this Divine
is meant by "the men looked forth from there."
The thought was from the Human
conjoined with the Divine . . .
but the perception from which came the thought
was from the Divine,
therefore mention is now made in this same verse
 of "Jehovah" - that
"Abraham was standing before Jehovah;"
and when the Human was conjoined with the Divine,
there was also together with them the Proceeding.

 

** Thanks and Praise to the Lord ** (11/16)

Give thanks to the Lord,
for He is good;
His love endures forever.

(Psalm 118:1)

 

AC 2240 - Two Kinds of Falsity; AC 2243 - Consummation, Then Vastation & Desolation, Then Visitation

 AC 2240 [1, 8]

. . .  a "cry" denotes falsity,
and "sin" evil . . .

. . . there are two kinds of falsity;
and so also there are two kinds of evil.
Both kinds of falsity and evil
are meant in this verse by the
"cry of Sodom and Gomorrah having become great,
and their sin having become exceeding grievous;"
(Genesis 18:20)
as is evident from the fact that
"cry" is named in the first place,
and "sin" in the second;
and yet "Sodom," which is evil from the love of self,
is mentioned first;
and "Gomorrah," which is the derivative falsity, second.

AC 2243 [7-8]

The Lord then came into the world,
and by the union of the Divine Essence
with the Human Essence in Himself,
conjoined heaven with earth,
and at the same time He set up again a new church,
called the Christian Church,
which at first was in the good of faith,
and its members
lived in charity with one another as brethren.
But in process of time
this church has departed in diverse ways,
and at the present day has become such
that its members do not even know
that the fundamental of faith
is love to the Lord
and charity toward the neighbor;
and although they say from doctrine
that the Lord is the Savior of the human race,
that they are to rise again after death,
and that there is a heaven and a hell,
yet few believe it.
As this church has become such,
its consummation is not far off.

All this shows what "consummation" is,
namely, that it is when evil has come to its height.
 
. . . Consummation is treated of in the Word
in various places,
and the state which precedes
is described by "vastation" and "desolation,"
which is followed by "visitation."

~ Elisha Feeds 100 ~

A man came from Baal Shalishah,
bringing the man of God twenty loaves of barley bread
baked from the first ripe grain,
"Give it to the people to eat," Elisha said.

"How can I set this before a hundred men?"
his servant asked.

But Elisha answered, "Give it to the people to eat.
For this is what the Lord says:
'They will eat and have some left over.'"

Then he set it before them,
and they ate and had some left over,
according to the word of the Lord.

(II Kings 4:42-44)

** Thanks and Praise to the Lord ** (11/15)

How can I repay the Lord
for all His goodness to me?
I will lift up the cup of salvation
and call on the name of the Lord.
I will fulfill my vows to the Lord
in the presence of all His people.

(Psalm 116:12-14)

AC 2227 - Two Kinds of Good

AC 2227

Truth derived from good
is in the genuine sense spiritual good,
for there are two kinds of good,
quite distinct and separate from each other,
namely celestial good and spiritual good.
Celestial good is the manifestation
of love to the Lord,
spiritual good the manifestation
of love towards the neighbor.
From the former, that is, celestial good,
flows the latter,
that is, spiritual good;
for no one is able to love the Lord
unless he also loves the neighbor.
Love to the Lord embraces love towards the neighbor,
for love to the Lord originates in the Lord,
thus in Love itself towards the whole human race.
Abiding in love to the Lord
is the same as abiding in the Lord,
and one who abides in the Lord
must inevitably abide in His love
which is directed towards the human race,
and thus towards the neighbor,
so that in him both kinds of good are present -
both celestial and spiritual.
Celestial good is indeed good itself,
but spiritual good is in fact truth
that goes with or is derived from that celestial good.
This truth, as stated, is spiritual good.
It is celestial good that is meant by 'great',
but spiritual good by 'numerous'.

** Thanks and Praise to the Lord ** (11/14)

Let them give thanks to the Lord for His unfailing love
and his wonderful deeds for mankind.
Let them sacrifice thank offerings
and tell of His works with songs of joy.

(Psalm 107:21-22)

AC 2218 - The Lord's Divine Perception; AC 2219, 220 - Sodom and the Love of Self

AC 2218

By the coming of the three men, or of Jehovah,
to Abraham,
was represented the Lord's Divine perception . . ..
The Lord's perception from the Divine at that time
was first concerning the Divine Trine,
which is the Divine Itself,
the Divine Human,
and the Proceeding.
Afterwards it was concerning His Human,
that it should put on the Divine.
Now follows a perception from the Divine
concerning the human race, as regards its quality.
These three things
are what are treated of in this chapter,
and they follow in order, namely,
that the Divine assumed the Human,
and made this Divine,
in order that it might save the human race.
Concerning the former two
it is said that the perception came to an end,
which is meant in the internal sense
by the "men rising up;"
but the perception concerning the human race,
as regards its quality,
is meant in the internal sense
by their "looking to the faces of Sodom,
and by Abraham going with them;"
and that the Lord did not will to remain
in that perception,
is meant by Abraham
"going with them to send them away."

AC 2219 [2-4, 5]

Man (humankind) is distinguished above beasts
by having a rational given him,
to the end that everyone
may will well and do well to others,
as in general so in particular.
This is the order into which man has been created;
consequently it is love to God
and love toward the neighbor
that should be man's life,
and by which
he should be distinguished from brute animals.
This is also the order of heaven,
in which it was intended man should be
while he lives in the world;
thus in the Lord's kingdom;
and into this kingdom he would pass
when he had put off the body
that had been of service to him upon the earth,
and there he would rise into a state
continually advancing in heavenly perfection.

But the love of self is the primary
and indeed the only thing that destroys all this;
and not so much so the love of the world,
for this is indeed opposite to the spiritual things of faith,
but the love of self is diametrically opposite
to the celestial things of love;
for he who loves himself loves no others,
but endeavors to destroy all persons
whatever that do not pay reverence to him;
nor does he will well and do well to anyone,
except to him who is a part of himself,
or can be captivated
so as to be a part of himself,
like something inoculated as it were
with his greedy loves and fantasies.
From this it is evident
that from the love of self there gush forth all hatreds,
all revenges and cruelties,
as also all infamous simulations and deceits,
and thus all heinous things
against the order of human society
and against the order of heavenly society.

Indeed, so heinous is the love of self,
that when its bonds are relaxed,
that is, when opportunity of free range is given it,
even with those who are in the lowest condition,
it so rushes on,
that it not only wills to exercise dominion
over neighbors and those near at hand,
but also over the universe,
and even over the Supreme Divine Itself.

But the love of self is not always
that which appears in the outward form
as pride and haughtiness,
for sometimes such persons are able
to hold the neighbor in charity,
for with some such an external is born,
and with some it is contracted in early life,
but is afterwards subjugated,
the external still remaining.
But those are in the love of self
who despise others
and make them of no account
in comparison with themselves,
and who care nothing for the common good,
unless it is for them,
and they themselves, as it were, are it,
especially those who hate all
by whom they are not favored and served,
persecuting them,
and so far as they are able depriving them
of their possessions, honor, reputation, and even life.
Let those who breathe such things in intention
know that they are preeminently in the love of self.

AC 2220 [1]

That "Sodom" is all evil from the love of self,
is evident from the meaning of "Sodom" in the Word.
Although in the following chapter it appears
as if the evil of the worst adultery
was signified by "Sodom,"
nevertheless in the internal sense
nothing else than evil from the love of self
is meant by it.
Also In the Word
the abominations that well forth from the love of self
are represented by adulteries of various kinds.

** Thanks and Praise to the Lord ** (11/13)

Give thanks to the Lord,
for He is good
His love endures forever.
Let them give thanks to the Lord
for His unfailing love
and His wonderful deeds for mankind,
for He satisfies the thirsty
and fills the hungry with good things."

(Psalm 107:1,8-9)

 

The Lord Putting Off the Human: AC 2198 - Old Age; AC 2216 - Laughing and Laughter

AC 2198

"Old age" is mentioned in various places in the Word,
as also that men "died;"
but in the internal sense
no old age, or death, such as those of the body,
are ever perceived;
but something else
that is evident from the series of things;
for in the other life old age and death are unknown.
What is here meant is evident . . .
from the series of things,
namely, that the Lord was to put off the human.

AC 2216

. . .  "laughing," or of "laughter," . . .
is an affection of the rational,
and indeed the affection
of truth or of falsity in the rational,
that is the source of all laughter.
So long as there is in the rational
such an affection as displays itself in laughter,
so long there is in it something corporeal or worldly,
and thus merely human.
Celestial good and spiritual good do not laugh,
but express their delight and cheerfulness
in the face, the speech, and the gesture,
in another way;
for there are very many things in laughter,
for the most part something of contempt,
which, even if it does not appear,
nevertheless lies concealed;
and laughter is easily distinguished
from cheerfulness of the mind,
which also produces something similar to it.
The state of the human rational with the Lord
is described by Sarah's "laughing;"
and thereby is meant
with what kind of affection the truth of the rational,
at that time separated from good,
regarded what was said:
that it should be put off,
and the Divine put on;
not that the Lord laughed,
but that He perceived from the Divine
what the rational still was,
and how much of the human there still was in it,
and which was to be expelled.
In the internal sense
this is what is meant by Sarah's "laughing."

** Thanks and Praise to the Lord ** (11/12)

Praise the Lord.

Give thanks to the Lord,
for He is good;
His love endures forever.

(Psalm 106:1)

AC 2194 - Where the Human Begins

AC 2194

With everyone
the human has its beginnings
in the inmost part of the rational . . .
so that the Lord's Human too had its beginnings there.
That which was above it was Jehovah Himself,
which is not the case with anyone else at all.
Since the human has its beginnings
in the inmost part of the rational,
and since the Lord made
the whole of the human with Him Divine,
He first made the rational itself Divine from the inmost.
And that rational,
having been made Divine,
is represented and meant,
as has been stated, by 'Isaac'.

** Thanks and Praise to the Lord ** (11/11)

Give thanks to the Lord,
call on His name;
make known among the nations what He has done.
Sing to Him,
sing praise to Him;
tell of all His wonderful acts.
Glory in His holy name;
let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.
Look to the Lord and His strength;
see His face always.

(Psalm 105:1-3)

 

** Thanks and Praise to the Lord ** (11/10)

AC 2189 [2-3]

The primary thing of the rational with a person is truth,
consequently it is the affection of truth,
to the end that a person may be reformed,
and so regenerated.
This is effected by means of knowledges that are of truth,
which are continually being implanted in good,
that is, in charity,
that so the person may receive the life of charity.
It is on this account
that the affection of truth in a person
is predominant in his rational.
For it is the case with the life of charity
(which is the heavenly life itself)
that with those who are being reformed and regenerated
it is continually being born
and growing up and receiving increments,
and this by means of truths;
therefore the more of truth there is insinuated,
the more is the life of charity perfected;
wherefore according to
the quality and quantity of truth,
so is the charity with a person.

From all this it may in some measure be evident
how the case is with a person's rational.
In truth, however, there is no life, but in good.
Truth is only a recipient of life, that is, of good.
Truth is as the clothing or garment of good;
therefore also truths are called in the Word
"clothing," and also "garments."
But when good constitutes the rational,
truth disappears and becomes as if it were good.
Good then shines through the truth,
in the same way as takes place with the angels,
for when they appear clothed,
it is a brightness inducing the appearance of raiment,
as was the case also
when angels appeared before the prophets.

AC 2190

And he said, Behold, in the tent.
(Genesis 18:9)

That this means that it was in what is holy,
is evident from the signification of a "tent,"
as being what is holy.
It is said in what is holy,
because it was in good.
All good is called holy from the fact
that it is of love and charity,
which are solely from the Lord.
But such as are the goods, such are the holinesses.
Goods are formed, that is, are born and grow up,
by means of the truths of faith,
and their quality and quantity
are therefore determined
by those of the truth of faith
implanted in charity,
from which it follows that goods or the holinesses
differ with everyone;
and although in the external form
they may appear to be alike,
yet in the internal forms they are unlike;
and this both with those who are out of the church
and with those who are within the church.
There are more things
in the good of charity with a person
than a person can possibly believe.
All the things of his faith are in it,
and consequently
they are in the holiness of his worship.
The quality of the holiness of his worship
appears to the angels as in clear day,
although the person knows nothing
beyond the fact that he is in a certain holy state.
Myriads of myriads of his thoughts
concerning the goods and truths of faith
and of the derivative affections,
are in the holiness of his state.
But as to the holiness of worship,
what it is in general,
of the Lord's Divine mercy elsewhere.