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.