AC 3628 - Two Forces

AC 3628 [3]

. . . in order that anything may exist and subsist
there must needs be two forces.
The forces which flow in and act from within
are from heaven and through heaven from the Lord,
and have in themselves life.
This is very clearly manifest from the organ of hearing:
unless there were interior modifications,
which are of life,
and to which correspond the exterior modifications
which are of the air,
here would be no hearing.
The same is also evident from the organ of sight:
unless there were interior light which is of life,
and to which corresponds the exterior light
which is of the sun,
no vision would be possible.
The case is the same with all the other organs
and members in the human body:
there are forces acting from without,
which are natural and in themselves not living,
and there are forces acting from within,
in themselves living,
which keep every organ in its connection,
and cause it to live,
and this according to the form
such as has been given them for use.

AC 3623 - "Lives"

AC 3623

As for the plural form of 'life' ("lives"),
when this is used
both the life of the will
and that of the understanding are meant,
and therefore both the life of good
and that of truth are meant.
For a person's life consists in nothing else
than good and truth
which hold life from the Lord within them.
Devoid of good and truth,
and of the life which these hold within them,
no one is human.
For devoid of these
no one would ever have been able
to will or to think anything.
Everything that a person wills
originates in good or in that which is not good,
and everything he thinks
originates in truth or in that which is not truth.
Consequently a person possesses
two kinds of life
and these make one
when his thinking flows from his willing,
that is, when truth which is the truth of faith
flows from good which is the good of love.

AC 3605 - "To Hate"; AC 3617 - The Conjunction and Union of Good and Truth

AC 3605 [2, 4]

That in the internal sense "to hate"
denotes to be averse to
is because it is predicated of good,
which is represented by Esau,
and good does not even know what hatred is,
being the direct opposite of it,
and opposites are never possible
in the same subject;
but instead of hatred,
good, or they who are in good,
feel a kind of aversion;
so it is that "hatred" here in the internal sense
denotes to be averse to;
for the internal sense is principally for
and therefore when it comes down from there
and passes into the literal sense,
the feeling of repugnance enters into words
that denote hatred
when historical narratives refer to hatred.
Yet at the same time no idea of hatred
is present in the minds of those in heaven. 
This case is like that . . .
the words in the Lord's prayer,
"Lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
The idea of temptation and evil is rejected
until something purely angelic, that is to say, good,
devoid of any idea of temptation or evil remains.
And coupled with this purely angelic idea
there is a kind of indignation and a repugnance
to any thought of evil
when thinking about the Lord.

. . . for such as is a person's quality,
such the Lord appears to him.

AC 3617

. . . without the conjunction
in the natural of truth with good,
and the union of good with truth,
there is no regeneration . . ..

AC 3603 - The Four Ages of a Person

AC 3603 [3]

In his first age a person knows only by memory
the things contained in the Word,
and in like manner
what is in the doctrinal matters of faith;
and he believes himself to be good
when he is acquainted with many things therefrom,
and can apply some of them,
not to his own life,
but to the life of others.
In his second age, when he is more grown up,
he is not content to know only by memory
the things contained in the Word and in doctrine,
but begins to reflect upon them from his own thought,
and insofar as he adds thereto from his own thought,
insofar he is pleased;
and thereupon he is in the affection of truth
from a kind of worldly love,
which love is also the means
of his learning many things
that without it would be left unlearned.
In his third age,
if he is one of those who can be regenerated,
he begins to think about use,
and to reflect on what he reads in the Word
and absorbs from doctrinal matters for the sake of use;
and when he is in this state the order is inverted,
so that truth is no longer so much put in the first place.
But in his fourth age,
when comes the age of his regeneration,
because then the state is full,
he loves the Word
and the doctrinal things that are from the Word
-- that is, truth --
for the sake of the good of life,
consequently from the good of life.
Thus good comes to be in the prior place,
which until this time
was apparently in the posterior place.

AC 3593 - Before & After Regeneration, Simply Put; AC 3596 - Why Some Things Aren't Explained

AC 3593

. . . the two states of the person
who is being regenerated --
the state before he has been regenerated,
and the state after he has been regenerated --
namely, that in the state
before he has been regenerated,
truths apparently have the dominion;
while in the state after he has been regenerated,
truths give place,
and good receives the dominion.

AC 3596

But because these matters are such
as to be beyond the range of anything
grasped by the natural person
and so cannot be seen except in the light
in which the rational or internal person sees --
a light in which few see at the present day
because few are regenerate --
it is better not to elucidate them any further,
for the elucidation of things which are not known
and which go beyond the range
of a person's understanding
does not throw light on them
but rather puts them in the shade.
What is more, such things ought also to exist
as a superstructure
built upon ideas of natural truths
by means of which they can be grasped;
but these ideas too are lacking at the present day.
This also explains why the phrases prior
to that under discussion here
have been explained so briefly
and solely as to the internal sense
of the words used.

~ God's Chosen Servant ~

But the Pharisees went out
and plotted how they might kill Jesus.

Aware of this, Jesus withdrew from that place.
Many followed Him,
and He healed all their sick,
warning them not to tell who He was.
This was to fulfill what was spoken
through the prophet Isaiah:

"Here is My servant whom I have chosen,
the one I love, in whom I delight;
I will put My Spirit on Him,
and He will proclaim justice to the nations.
He will not quarrel or cry out;
no one will hear His voice in the streets.
A bruised reed He will not break,
and a smoldering wick He will not snuff out,
till He leads justice to victory.
In His name the nations will put their hope."

(Matthew 12:15-21 - quote from Isaiah 42:1-4)

AC 3576 - Truth Being Conjoined With Good; AC 3584 - A Society Together

AC 3576 [2]

. . . so long as truth is being conjoined with good,
good is apparently made to take a lower place;
but that it will be in the prior place,
and then there will be
a conjunction of the rational
with the good of the natural,
and thereby with the truth;
and thus truth will come to be of good . . ..

AC 3584

. . . truths and good . . form a society together,
at last making as it were one city;
and in such a manner
they also consociate (work together).
This originates from the form of heaven,
in which the angels are ranged in order according to
the relationships and affinities of good and truth,
and thus together constitute one kingdom or one city,
from which truths and goods flow in with a person,
and are disposed in him into a similar form,
and this by the Lord alone.

AC 3573 - Facial Expressions

 AC 3573 [3, 4]

. . . the rational mind, that is,
the inward areas of will and understanding with a person
ought to present themselves in his natural mind.
Just as the natural mind presents itself
in the face and facial expressions,
so much so that the face
is the outward expression of the natural mind,
so ought the natural mind
to be the outward expression of the rational mind.
When rational and natural are joined together,
as they are with those who are regenerate,
whatever a person wills
and thinks inwardly within his rational
makes itself evident in his natural;
and this in turn makes itself evident in the face.
This is what the face is to angels
and what it was to the most ancient people
who were celestial.
Indeed they were never afraid
that others might know their ends and intentions,
for they willed nothing but good.
For anyone who allows himself to be led by the Lord
never intends or thinks anything else.
Where a state such as this exists
the rational as regards good
joins itself to the good of the natural directly,
and through the good of the natural
to the truths of the natural.
It also joins itself indirectly through the truth there
in the rational to the truth in the natural,
and through this to the good there.
All this effects an indissoluble joining together.

But how far mankind is removed at the present day
from this state, and so from the heavenly state,
may be seen from the belief
that practical wisdom requires one, in the world,
to use words, also to perform acts,
as well as to adopt facial expressions
which are other than what one in fact thinks and intends.
Indeed it is believed
that one should so control the natural mind itself
that in unison with its face
it acts in quite an opposite way
from inward thoughts and desires
that flow from an evil end in view.
To the most ancient people this was utterly abominable,
and people who behaved in that way
were expelled as devils from their community.
From these considerations,
as from effects and the signs of those effects,
one may see what the joining together
of the rational or internal man
as regards good and truth
with his natural or external man implies.
One may thus also see
what one who is an angel is like
and what one who is a devil is like.
 

AC 3570 - The Natural and the Rational

AC 3570 [1-2, 6]

When the natural is in the state
in which it is outwardly good and inwardly truth,
it then admits many things which are not good,
but which nevertheless are useful,
being means to good in their order.
But the good of the rational
does not conjoin and appropriate to itself
from this source anything
but that which is in agreement with its own good;
for good receives nothing else,
and whatever disagrees, it rejects.
The rest of the things in the natural it leaves,
in order that they may serve as means
for admitting and introducing more things
that are in agreement with itself.

The rational is in the internal person,
and what is there being transacted
is unknown to the natural,
for it is above the sphere of its observation;
and for this reason the person
who lives a merely natural life
cannot know anything of what is taking place with him
in his internal person, that is, in his rational;
for the Lord disposes all such things
entirely without the person's knowledge.
So it is that a person knows nothing
of how he is being regenerated,
and scarcely that he is being regenerated.
But if he is desirous to know this,
let him merely attend to the ends
which he proposes to himself,
and which he rarely discloses to anyone.
If the ends are toward good,
that is to say,
if he cares more for his neighbor and the Lord
than for himself,
then he is in a state of regeneration;
but if the ends are toward evil,
that is to say,
if he cares more for himself
than for his neighbor and the Lord,
let him know that in this case
he is in no state of regeneration.

. . . the rational disposes the natural,
in order that it may serve it as the soul
or what is the same,
may serve the end, which is the soul,
to perfect itself,
that it may be of use in the Lord's kingdom.

~ Living and Teaching ~

Anyone who breaks
one of the least of these commandments
and teaches others to do the same
will be called least in the kingdom of heaven,
but whoever practices and teaches these commands
will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

(Matthew 5:19)

AC 3562 - The End in View

AC 3562

. . . the end in view determines
a person's happiness or unhappiness in the next life,
for the end is the inmost aspect of every cause,
so much so
that if the end does not exist within the cause,
indeed if it is not its all,
no cause exists at all.
The end is in a similar way
the inmost aspect of every effect,
for an effect springs from such a cause.
This being so, whatever exists with a person
owes its very being
to the end which he has in view.
In the next life therefore
a person's state is determined by.

~ The Last Temptation in the Desert ~

Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain
and showed Him
all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor.
"All this I will give you," he said,
'if You will bow down and worship me."

Jesus said to him, "Away from Me, Satan!
For it is written:
'Worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.'"

Then the devil left Him,
and angels came and attended Him.

(Matthew 4:8-11)

AC 3540 - Every Good; AC 3542 - The Yoke

AC 3540
 
Every good has its own truths,
and every truth has its own good,
which must be conjoined together
in order for them to be anything.

AC 3542 [4]

. . . to "put the neck under the yoke"
means to serve.

AC 3538 - One House; AC 3539 - Such Is the Love, Such Is the Life

AC 3538

When the rational acts from the will part or good,
through the intellectual part or truth,
then the rational mind is called "one house."
From this also
heaven itself is called the "house of God,"
because therein is nothing else than good and truth,
and the good acts through truth
united or conjoined with itself.
This is also represented in marriages
between a husband and wife
who constitute one house,
by reason that conjugial love comes forth
from the Divine marriage of good and truth;
and both the husband and the wife
have a will from good,
but with a difference such as is
that of good in respect to its own truth;
and therefore good is meant by the husband,
and truth by the wife;
for when there is one house,
then good is the all therein,
and truth, being of good, is also good.

AC 3539 [4]

. . . love is the very life of a person,
and that such as the love is,
such is the life;
and likewise that everything
delightful and everything pleasant is from love,
consequently all joy and all happiness;
and therefore also such as the love is,
such is the joy and such the happiness.
A person is also able
to apprehend in his understanding,
even should his will dissent or go contrary to,
that the happiest life is from
love to the Lord and from charity toward the neighbor,
because the very Divine flows into it;
and on the other hand
that the most miserable life is from
the love of self and the love of the world,
because hell flows into it . . ..

AC 3528 - Perception

AC 3528

. . . all perception,
which is internal sensation,
comes forth from good,
but not from truth,
except from good through truth;
for the Lord's Divine life flows into good,
and through good into truth,
and thus produces perception.

AC 3518 - Receiving Good and Deriving Good; AC 3519 - The Lord Enters Through Innocence

AC 3518 [2]

. . . with every person who is being regenerated
the good which he receives
from the Lord as from a new father is interior,
but the good which he derives
from his parents is exterior;
the former good,
which he receives from the Lord,
is called spiritual; but the latter,
which he derives from his parents,
is called natural good.
The good that a person derives from his parents
is serviceable first of all for his reformation,
for by means of it are introduced
as by what is pleasurable and delightful,
first, memory-knowledges,
and afterwards the knowledges of truth;
but when it has served as a means for this use
it is separated from these;
and then spiritual good comes forth and manifests itself.
This must be evident from much experience,
as from the single instance
that when a child is first instructed
he is affected with the desire of knowing,
not at first for any end that is manifest to himself,
but from a certain pleasure and delight
that is born with him
and is also derived from other sources;
but afterwards, as he grows up,
he is affected with the desire of knowing
for the sake of some end,
as that he may excel others, or his rivals;
and next for some end in the world;
but when he is to be regenerated,
he is affected from the delight and pleasantness of truth;
and when he is being regenerated,
which takes place in adult age,
from the love of truth,
and afterwards from the love of good;
and then the ends which had preceded,
together with their delights,
are separated little by little,
and to them succeeds interior good from the Lord,
which manifests itself in his affection.
From this it is evident that the former delights,
which had appeared in the outward form as good,
had served as means.
Such successions of means are continual.

AC 3519 [6]

The reason was that Jehovah or the Lord
cannot appear to anyone,
not even to an angel,
unless he to whom He appears
is in a state of innocence;
and therefore
as soon as the Lord is present with anyone
he is let into a state of innocence;
for the Lord enters through innocence,
even with the angels in heaven.

AC 3509, 3513 - Regenerating

AC 3509 [2]

The rational mind is distinguished into two faculties,
one faculty being called the will,
and the other the understanding.
During a person's regeneration,
that which proceeds from the will
is called good,
and that which proceeds from the understanding
is called truth.
Before a person has been regenerated
the will does not act as one with the understanding;
but the former wills good,
while the latter wills truth;
insomuch that an effort of the will is perceived
as being quite distinct from one of the understanding.
This however is perceived only by those who reflect,
and who know what the will is
and the things that belong thereto,
and what the understanding is
and the things that belong thereto;
but it is not perceived by those
who do not know these things
and therefore who do not reflect,
for the reason that the natural mind
is regenerated through the rational mind,
and this according to an order such
that the good of the rational
does not flow immediately into
the good of the natural and regenerate it,
but through the truth which is of the understanding,
thus in appearance from the truth of the rational.

AC 3513 [2]

If good, that is,
love to the Lord and charity toward the neighbor,
form the internal or rational person,
and through this
the external or natural person corresponding to it,
then the person becomes in particular and in general
an image of heaven,
consequently an image of the Lord;
but if contempt
for the Lord and for the good and truth of faith,
and hatred toward the neighbor,
form the internal person,
then the person becomes
in particular and in general an image of hell;
and especially when at the same time this is done
in what is holy,
for from this comes profanation.
 

** They Came to His Tomb **

After the Sabbath,
at dawn on the first day of the week,
Mary Magdalene and the other Mary
went to look at the tomb.

There was a violent earthquake,
for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven
and, going to the tomb,
rolled back the stone and sat on it.
His appearance was like lightning,
and his clothes were white as snow.
The guards were so afraid of him
that they shook and became like dead men.

The angel said to the women,
"Do not be afraid,
for I now that you are looking for Jesus,
who was crucified.
He is not here;
He has risen,
just as He said.
Come and see the place where He lay."

(Matthew 28:1-6)

 

AC 3493 - First the Rational Then the Natural; AC 3504 - Being Blessed

AC 3493

. . .the rational is regenerated before the natural,
for the reason that the rational is more interior
and thus nearer to the Divine;
and also because it is purer,
and thus fitter to receive the Divine than is the natural;
and further because the natural
is to be regenerated through the rational.

AC 3502 [2]

The natural does not become new,
or receive life corresponding to the rational,
that is, is not regenerated,
except by means of doctrinal things,
or the knowledges of good and truth --
the celestial man by the knowledges of good first,
but the spiritual man by the knowledges of truth first.
Doctrinal things, or the knowledges of good and truth,
cannot be communicated to the natural person,
thus cannot be conjoined and appropriated,
except by means of
delights and pleasantnesses accommodated to it,
for they are insinuated
by an external or sensuous way;
and whatever does not enter
by some delight or pleasantness
does not inhere, thus does not continue.

AC 3504

That my soul may bless you.
(Genesis 27:4)

. . .the meaning of " being blessed,"
as being to be gifted with celestial and spiritual good;
for the good of infancy and of the consequent life,
which is the same as the good of the natural,
and which is represented by Esau,
is not spiritual good --
the good of infancy being devoid
of knowledge and intelligence,
and thus of wisdom.
The good of infancy becomes spiritual good
through the implanting of truth,
thus through regeneration;
from which comes the correspondence
between rational and natural things . . ..

** The Next Day **

The next day, the one after Preparation Day,
the chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate.
"Sir," they said, "we remember
that while He was still alive
that deceiver said,
'After three days I will rise again.'
So give the order
for the tomb to be made secure until the third day.
Otherwise, His disciples may come and steal the body
and tell the people
that He has been raised from the dead.
This last deception will be worse than the first."

"Take a guard," Pilate answered.
"Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how.
So they went and made the tomb secure
by putting a seal on the stone and posting the guard.

(Matthew 27:62-66)

AC 3490 - An Overview Of Genesis 27

AC 3490

In the preceding chapters,
where Isaac and Rebekah are treated of,
the subject in the internal sense is the rational,
and how the Lord made it Divine in Himself.
In the present chapter, in the internal sense,
the subject is the natural,
and how the Lord made it Divine in Himself.
"Esau" is the good thereof,
and "Jacob" the truth.
For when the Lord was in the world
He made His whole Human Divine in Himself,
both the interior Human which is the rational,
and the exterior Human which is the natural,
and also the very corporeal,
and this according to Divine order,
according to which
the Lord also makes new or regenerates a person.
And therefore in the representative sense
the regeneration of a person as to his natural
is also here treated of,
in which sense "Esau" is the good of the natural,
and "Jacob" the truth thereof,
and yet both Divine,
because all the good and truth
in one who is regenerate
are from the Lord.

** At the Ninth Hour **

From the sixth hour until the ninth hour
darkness came over all the land.
About the ninth hour
Jesus cried out in a loud voice,
"Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?" --
which means
"My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?"

(Matthew 27:45-46)

AC 3487 - Two States of Perversion of the Church; AC 3488 - Where Faith and Charity Are

AC 3487

. . . the first state of the perversion of the church,
which was that they would begin no longer to know
what is good and what is true;
but would dispute about it among themselves,
from which falsities would originate.

. . . the second state of the perversion of the church,
which is that they would despise good and truth,
and also turn away from them;
and thus that faith in the Lord would step by step expire,
as charity would cease.

AC 3488 [6, 8]

. . . where faith is not,
there is charity is not,
and where charity is not,
faith is not;
but charity is that which receives faith,
and no charity is that which rejects faith:
this is the origin of every falsity and every evil.

. . . when they are in falsity and evil,
they no longer know what is true and what is good;
they then believe falsity to be truth,
and evil to be good,
and the reverse;
and when the church is in this state,
Then shall the end come.

~ The Lord, the King of Israel, Is With You ~

Sing, O Daughter of Zion;
shout aloud, O Israel!
Be glad and rejoice with all your heart,
O Daughter of Jerusalem!
The Lord has taken away your punishment,
He has turned back your enemy
The Lord, the King of Israel, is with you;
never again will you fear any harm.
On that day they will say to Jerusalem,
"Do not fear, O Zion;
do not let your hands hang limp.
The Lord your God is with you,
He is mighty to save.
He will take great delight in you,
He will quiet you with His love,
He will rejoice over you with singing."

(Zephaniah 3:14-17)

** Judas **

Then one of the Twelve --
the one called Judas Iscariot --
went to the chief priests and asked,
"What are you willing to give me
if I hand Him over to you?"
So they counted out for him thirty silver coins.
From then on Judas watched for an opportunity
to hand Him over.

(Matthew 26:14-16)

AC 3475-3476, AC 3484 - Representatives, Correspondence & Life

AC 3475-3476

Inhabitants of the first heaven
see within their representatives
such things as manifest themselves
within the inner sphere of the kingdom.
And within these they see things more interior still,
and so, though remotely,
things that are representative of the Lord.
Inhabitants of the second heaven
see within their representatives such things
as exist in the inmost sphere of the kingdom;
and within these
they see representatives of the Lord more closely.
Inhabitants of the third heaven however
see the Lord Himself.

From all this
people may know how the case is with the Word;
for the Word has been given by the Lord
to man and also to the angels
in order that by it they may be with Him;
for the Word is the medium
that unites earth with heaven,
and through heaven with the Lord.
Its literal sense is that which unites man
with the first heaven;
and as within the literal
there is an internal sense
which treats of the Lord's kingdom,
and within this a supreme sense
which treats of the Lord;
and as these senses are in order one within another,
it is evident what is the nature
of the union with the Lord
that is effected by means of the Word.

AC 3484

. . . there is but one life - the Lord's.
This life flows in and gives life to man,
to both good and evil alike.
To that life
the forms which consist of material substance
correspond,
and those forms -
by means of a constant inflow of the Divine -
receive life in such a way
that they seem to themselves to live independently.
This correspondence is a correspondence
of the organs of life with life itself.
Yet the nature of the recipient organs
determines the kind of life they have.
In those people
who have love and charity within them
that correspondence is present,
for the life itself is received by them as it should be.
But that correspondence is not present in those
who have the reverse of love and charity within them,
for the life itself is not received by them as it should be.
Consequently the nature of the life received by them
depends on what they are like themselves.
This may be exemplified from the natural forms
on to which the light of the sun falls -
the nature of the forms receiving it
determines the variations of the light reflected in them.
In the spiritual world the variations are spiritual,
and therefore
the nature of recipient forms in that world determines
that of the intelligence and the wisdom they have.
This is why good spirits and angels
are seen as embodiments of charity themselves,
while evil and hellish spirits
are seen as embodiments of hatred.
 

** A Warning **

When Jesus had finished saying all these things,
He said to His disciples,
"As you know, the Passover is two days away --
and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified."

(Matthew 26:1)

AC 3469, 3470 - Natural Good

AC 3469 [2, 3]

. . . a person is regenerated as to the rational
before he is regenerated as to the natural;
because the natural is altogether in the world,
and in the natural as in a plane
there are founded a person's thought and will.
This is the reason why during regeneration
a person observes a combat
between his rational or internal person
and his natural or external person;
and why his external person is regenerated much later,
and likewise with much greater difficulty,
than his internal person.
For that which is nearer to the world
and nearer to the body
cannot be easily constrained
to render obedience to the internal person;
but only after considerable length of time
and by means of many new states
into which the person is introduced,
which are states of self-acknowledgment,
and of acknowledgment of the Lord,
that is, of one's own wretchedness,
and of the Lord's mercy;
thus states of humiliation
resulting from temptation combats.

Everyone knows what natural good is,
namely, that it is the good into which a person is born;
but what the natural good of truth is,
is known to few, if any.
There are four kinds of natural good,
that is, of the good that is born with a person,
namely, natural good from the love of good,
natural good from the love of truth,
and also natural good from the love of evil,
and natural good from the love of falsity.
For the good into which a person is born
he derives from his parents,
either father or mother;
for all that which parents have contracted
by frequent use and habit,
or have become imbued with by actual life
until it has become so familiar to them
that it appears as if natural,
is transmitted into their children,
and becomes hereditary.
If parents who have lived
in the good of the love of good
and in this life have perceived
their delight and blessedness,
conceive offspring in this state,
the offspring receive therefrom
an inclination to similar good;
and if parents who have lived
in the good of the love of truth
and in this life have perceived their delight,
are in this state when they conceive offspring,
the offspring receive therefrom
an inclination to the like good.

AC 3470 [2, 3]

As just stated natural good is from parents;
but spiritual good is from the Lord;
and therefore
in order that a person may receive spiritual good,
he must be regenerated . . ..

. . . natural good is such that of itself
it is unwilling to obey and serve the rational
as a slave does his master
but wishes to take command.
To render it submissive and subservient however
it is chastened
by means of states of vastation and temptation
to the point when its cravings die down.
At that point it is moderated
by means of an influx from the Lord,
by way of the internal person,
of the good of faith and charity,
even to the point where good acquired by heredity
is gradually rooted out
and a new good implanted in place of it.
Into this new good
truths of faith are introduced,
like new fibers into the human heart,
along which fibers new fluid is borne in,
until a new heart has by degrees grown there.

~ In His Holy Temple ~

"But the Lord is in His holy temple;
let all the earth be silent before Him."

(Habakkuk 2:20)
 

** The Pharisees Question Jesus **

Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees,
the Pharisees got together.
One of them, and expert in the law,
tested Him with this question:
"Teacher,
which is the greatest commandment in the Law?"

Jesus replied:
""Love the Lord your God
with all your heart
and with all your soul
and with all your mind.'
This is the first and greatest commandment.
And the second is like it:
'Love your neighbor as yourself.'
All the Law and the Prophets
hang on these two commandments."

(Matthew 22:34-40)

AC 3464 - Being in the Doctrinal Things From the Literal Sense

AC 3464

For as before said,
there are interior truths in all the doctrinal things
that are drawn from the literal sense of the Word,
because the literal sense of the Word
is like a well that contains water;
for in each and every thing of the Word
there is an internal sense,
which is also in the doctrinal things
that are from the Word.

As regards the doctrinal things
that are from the literal sense of the Word,
the case is this:
When a person is in them,
and at the same time in a life according to them,
he has a correspondence in himself;
for the angels who are with him
are in interior truths, while he is in exterior ones,
and thus through the doctrinal things
he has communication with heaven,
but according to the good of his life.

As for example, when in the Holy Supper
he thinks in simplicity of the Lord
from the words then used,
"This is My body, and this is "My blood,"
the angels with him
are in the idea of love to the Lord
and charity toward the neighbor;
for love to the Lord corresponds
to the Lord's body, and to bread;
and charity toward the neighbor
corresponds to the blood, and the wine;
and because there is such a correspondence,
there flows an affection out of heaven
through the angels into that holy state
in which the person then is,
which affection he receives
in accordance with the good of his life.

For the angels
dwell with everyone in his life's affection,
thus in the affection of the doctrinal things
according to which he lives;
but in no case if his life disagrees therewith;
for if the life disagrees,
as for instance
if he is in the affection of gaining honors and riches
by means of doctrinal things,
then the angels retire,
 and infernals dwell in this affection,
who either infuse into him
confirmations of the doctrinal things
for the sake of self and the world,
thus a persuasive faith --
which is such
that it is regardless whether a thing is true or false
provided it captivates the minds of others --
or else they take away all faith,
and then the doctrine of his lips
is only a sound excited and modified
by the fire of these loves.

~ The Lord Is Good ~

The Lord is good,
a refuge in times of trouble.
He cares for those who trust in Him . . ..

(Nahum 1:7)

** Jesus Enters the Temple **

Jesus entered the temple area
and drove out all who were buying and selling there.
He overturned the tables of the money changers
and benches of those selling doves.
"It is written," He said to them,
"'My house will be called a house of prayer,'
but you are making it a 'den of robbers.'"

(Matthew 21:12-13)

AC 3451 - Doctrine and Life; AC 3454 - Doing Violence to the Internal Sense

AC 3451 [2, 4]

. . . a difference in the doctrinal things of faith
does not prevent the church from being one,
provided there is unanimity
as to willing well and doing well.

. . . those who are in good, that is,
with those who,
although they make faith essential as to doctrine,
still make charity essential as to life;
for when with such
there is confidence or trust in the Lord,
which they call faith itself,
then they are in the affection of love to the Lord,
consequently as to the life they are in good.

AC 3454

. . . to do violence to the internal sense
is to deny those things
which are the principal things of this sense,
and which are the essential holy things of the Word;
and these are,
the Divine Human of the Lord,
love to Him,
and love toward the neighbor.
These three are
the principal things of the internal sense,
and are the holy things of the Word;
they are also the internal and holy things
of all doctrinal things that are from the Word;
and are likewise
the internal and holy things of all worship;
for in them is the Lord's kingdom itself.
A fourth is, that the Word,
as to all things therein both in general and in particular,
indeed, as to the smallest point, is Divine;
thus that the Lord is in the Word.
This is also confessed and acknowledged
by all who have doctrinal things from the Word;
and yet at heart
those deny it
who acknowledge no other holiness in the Word
than that which appears in the letter;
for such can perceive nothing holy
in the historicals, nor in the propheticals,
except only a slight external something,
from its being called holy;
when yet it must be interiorly holy
if it be Divine as to the smallest point.

~ The Mountain of the Lord, Our Shepherd ~

In the last days
the mountain of the Lord's temple
will be established as chief among the mountains;
it will be raised above the hills,
and peoples will stream to it.

Many nations will come and say,
"Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
to the house of the God of Jacob.
He will teach us His ways,
so that we may walk in His paths."
The law will go out from Zion,
the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
He will judge between many peoples
and will settle disputes for strong nations far and wide.
they will beat their swords into plowshares
and their spears into pruning hooks.
Nation will not take up sword against nation,
nor will they train for war anymore.
Every man will sit under his own vine
and under his own fig tree,
and no one will make them afraid,
for the Lord Almighty has spoken.
All the nations may walk in the name of their gods;
we will walk in the name of the Lord
our God for ever and ever.

(Micah 4:1-5)

He will stand and shepherd His flock
in the strength of the Lord,
in the majesty of the name of the Lord His God.
And they will live securely,
for then His greatness
will reach to the ends of the earth.
And He will be their peace.

(Micah 5:4-5)

** Jesus Rides Into Jerusalem **

The crowds that went ahead of Him
and those that followed shouted,

"Hosanna to the Son of David!"

"Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!"

"Hosanna in the highest!"

(Matthew 21:9)

AC 3447 - Every Church; AC 3449 - Refusing the Divine

AC 3447 [2]

As in every church of the Lord
there are those who are internal people
and those who are external,
and the internal are those who are in the affection of good,
and the external those who are in the affection of truth . . ..

AC 3449

And Isaac said to them,
For what reason have you come to me,
seeing that you hate me
and have sent me away from you?'
(Genesis 26:27)

This means,
why should they desire that which is Divine
seeing that they refused to recognize it
and loathed that which is contained
in the internal sense of the Word?

AC 3441 - The Lord's Divine Human; AC 3445 - One Doctrine

AC 3441

For the sake of Abraham My servant.
(Genesis 26:24)

This means because of the Lord's Divine Human.
This is clear from the representation of 'Abraham'
as the Lord's Divine, and also His Divine Human,
and from the meaning of 'My servant',
when used in reference to the Lord,
as the Divine Human.
Not that the Divine Human is a servant,
for the Divine Human also is Jehovah,
but 'My servant' means the Divine Human
because by means of that Divine Human
the Lord serves the human race.
Indeed it is by means of the Divine Human
that a person is saved,
for unless the Lord had united
the Human to the Divine
so that a person could with his mind
behold and worship the Lord's Human,
and in so doing approach the Divine,
he could not possibly be saved.
The joining of a person
to the Divine Himself, called the Father,
is effected through the Divine Human, called the Son,
and so through the Lord,
by whom one who is spiritual
understands the Human,
but one who is celestial
understands the Divine Himself.

From these considerations it is evident
why the Divine Human is called a servant,
namely that it serves the Divine
for the purpose of giving a person access to Himself,
and it serves the human race in their salvation.

AC 3445

. . . doctrine itself from the literal sense of the Word
is one only, namely,
the doctrine of charity and love --
charity toward the neighbor and love to the Lord;
for this doctrine and life according to it
is the whole Word . . ..

AC 3436 - Reading the Word

AC 3436

. . . he who reads the Word in order to be wise,
that is, to do what is good
and understand what is true,
is instructed according to his end and affection;
for unknown to him
the Lord flows in and enlightens his mind,
and where he is at a loss,
gives understanding from other passages.

~ As You Have Done ~

"The day of the Lord is near for all nations.
As you have done,
it will be done to you;
your deeds will return upon your own head."

(Obadiah 1:15)

AC 3427 - Persuasive Faith vs. the Good of Life

AC 3427 [4]

. . . those who are in the mere doctrinal things of faith
and not in the good of life,
cannot but be in persuasive faith,
that is, in preconceived principles,
false as well as true;
consequently they must be more stupid than others,
for insofar as anyone is in persuasive faith,
so far he is stupid;
but insofar as anyone is in the good of life
(that is, in love to the Lord and charity toward the neighbor),
so far he is in intelligence,
that is, in faith from the Lord.
Also, for this reason it is
that the former (those in mere doctrinal things of faith)
must needs be in the negative
as regards the internal sense of the Word;
but the latter (those in the good of life)
must needs be in the affirmative
for with those who are merely in doctrinal things,
and not in the good of life,
the interiors are closed,
so that the light of truth from the Lord cannot flow in
and give them to perceive that it is so;
whereas with those who are in love to the Lord
the interiors are open
so that the light of truth from the Lord can flow in,
affect their minds,
and give a perception that it is so.

AC 3419 - The Lord, Charity and the Neighbor

AC 3419 [3, 6]

. . . as the ancients were in
the representatives and the meanings
of the Lord's kingdom,
in which there is nothing but celestial and spiritual love,
they had also doctrinal things
that treated solely of love to God
and of charity toward the neighbor;
and by virtue of these doctrinal things
they were called the wise.
From these doctrinal things they knew
that the Lord would come into the world,
and that Jehovah would be in Him,
and that He would make the human in Himself Divine,
and would thus save the human race.
From these doctrinal things
they also knew what charity is,
namely, the affection of being of service to others
without any end of recompense;
and also what is the neighbor
toward whom there should be charity,
namely, all in the universe,
but still each with discrimination.
At this day these doctrinal things are utterly lost,
and in place of them there are doctrinal things of faith,
which the ancients accounted as relatively nothing.
At the present day
the doctrinal things of love to the Lord
and of charity toward the neighbor are rejected,
in part by those who in the Word
are called "Babylonians and Chaldeans,"
and in part by those
who are called "Philistines" and also "Egyptians";
and thus are so completely lost
that there remains scarcely any trace of them.
For who at the present day knows what
that charity is which is devoid of all regard for self,
and which is averse to everything
that is for the sake of self?
And who knows that the neighbor is everyone,
with discrimination
according to the kind and amount of good in him,
thus that he is good itself,
consequently in the supreme sense the Lord Himself,
because He is in good,
and good is from Him,
and the good which is not from Him is not good,
however much it may appear to be so?
And because it is not known what charity is,
and what the neighbor,
it is not known who they are that in the Word
are signified by the "poor," the "miserable,"
the "needy," the "sick," the "hungry" and "thirsty,"
the "oppressed," "widows," "orphans," "captives,"
the "naked," "sojourners," the "blind," the "deaf,"
the "halt," "maimed," and others
when yet the doctrinal things of the ancients
taught who these were,
and to what class of the neighbor,
and thus of charity, each belonged.
The whole of the Word in the sense of the letter
is written in accordance with these doctrinal things,
so that he who has no knowledge of them
cannot possibly know
any interior sense of the Word.

. . . in the supreme sense
the Lord is the neighbor, for He says:

'I tell you the truth,
whatever you did
for one of the least of these brothers of mine,
you did for Me.'
Matthew 25:40)

AC 3412 - Wisdom & Intelligence; AC 3417 - The Life of Heavenly Delight

AC 4312 [3]

. . . no one can be wise and intelligent in regard to truth
unless he is in good, that is in charity,
because all truth is from good,
and looks to good;
so that those who are without good
cannot understand truth,
and are not even willing to know it.

AC 3417 [3]

. . . heavenly delight . . . results from
humiliation and the affection of serving others --
that is, the delight of love to the Lord
and of charity toward the neighbor --
consequently of the blessedness
and happiness derived from them.

. . .a single angel has greater power
than myriads of infernal spirits,
yet not from himself, but from the Lord;
and he has it from the Lord
in proportion that he believes
that he has no power from himself,
thus that he is the least:
and this he can believe in so far as he is in humiliation
and in the affection of being of service to others,
that is,
in so far as he is in the good of love to the Lord,
and of charity toward the neighbor.

~ He Forms the Mountains ~

He who forms the mountains,
creates the wind,
and reveals His thoughts to man,
He who turns dawn to darkness,
and treads the high places of the earth --
the Lord God Almighty is His name.

(Amos 4:6-13)

AC 3405 - In That Year A Hundred Measures

AC 3405

And found in that year a hundred measures.
(Genesis 24:12)

That this means abundance,
is evident from the meaning of "year,"
as being the entire state that is treated of;
from the meaning of a "hundred,"
as being much and full;
and from the meaning of "measure,"
as being the state of a thing as to truth.
All these things collected into a one
mean the abundance of truth.

In the supreme sense here, as everywhere,
the subject treated of is the Lord --
that He too when in the maternal human
was in appearances of truth;
but that as He put off this human,
He put off the appearances also,
and put on the infinite and eternal Divine Itself.
But in the internal or relative sense
the subject is appearances of a higher degree
which exist with the angels, as above stated,
the abundance of which is meant by
the finding in that year of a hundred measures.

With appearances of truth,
or with truths from the Divine,
the case is
that such as are of a higher degree
immeasurably surpass those
which are in a lower degree,
both in abundance and in perfection;
for myriads, indeed myriads of myriads of things
which are distinctively perceived
by those who are in a higher degree,
appear only as one thing
to those who are in a lower degree;
for lower things are nothing
but the composites of higher things,
as may be inferred from the memories in a person,
the interior of which,
because in a higher degree,
so immeasurably excels the exterior one
which is in a lower degree.
From this we can see how great
is the angelic wisdom
in comparison with that of a person;
the angels of the third heaven
being in the fourth degree above a person;
concerning which wisdom therefore
nothing can be told
except that it is incomprehensible,
indeed, beyond words (ineffable).

AC 3402 - Good and Truth and Profanation

AC 3402 [2-3]

(That it is of the Lord's providence
that no one should be admitted into good and truth --
that is, into the acknowledgment and affection of them --
any further than he can remain in them,
on account of the danger of eternal damnation,
may be seen above, n. 3398.)

Good and truth, or the angels,
are said to be removed from a person
when he is not affected by them,
that is, when he is no longer delighted with them,
but on the contrary
is affected by the things that are
of the love of self and the love of the world,
that is, when these alone delight him.

To know good and truth,
that is, to hold them in the memory,
and to talk about them,
is not to possess them;
but to possess them
is to be affected by them from the heart;
neither does anyone possess good and truth
when he is affected by them
for the sake of thereby gaining reputation and wealth;
for in this case he is not affected by good and truth,
but by honor and gain,
and he makes the former
the means of obtaining the latter.
In the other life
the goods and truths that such persons have known,
and have even preached,
are taken away from them,
and there remains the love of self and of the world,
from which is their life.
From this it is evident
how the case is with good and truth,
namely, that no one is allowed to approach them
with affection and faith,
unless he is of such a character
that he can continue in them to the end of his life.
But they who profane
are those who cannot be withheld from them.

AC 3394 - The Perception of the Celestial

AC 3394 [2]

The spiritual, not having perception as the celestial have,
do not know that with a regenerated person
Divine truth becomes rational truth.
They do indeed say
that all good and all truth are from the Lord;
yet as these come forth in their rational,
they suppose them to be their own,
and thus as it were from themselves;
for the spiritual cannot be separated from their own,
and their own so wills it;
although as regards this matter with the celestial,
these perceive Divine good and truth in the rational,
that is, in the rational things
which when enlightened by the Divine of the Lord
are appearances of truth,
even in the natural,
that is, in the things of sense and memory-knowledge;
and as the celestial are in such a state,
they are able to acknowledge
that all good and truth flow in from the Lord;
and also that there is
a perceptive power of good and truth
that is communicated and appropriated
to them by the Lord,
and that constitutes their delight, bliss, and happiness.
It was from this that the most ancient people,
who were celestial people,
in all the objects which they saw with their eyes
perceived nothing but celestial and spiritual things.

~ The Ways of the Lord ~

The ways of the Lord are right;
the righteous walk in them,
but the rebellious stumble in them.

(Hosea 14:9.5)