AE 689 - all being, living, and ability are from the Lord

AE 689
Saying, we give Thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty,
(Revelation 11:17)
signifies the acknowledgment
that all being, living, and ability are from the Lord.

[2] In respect to Divine omnipotence:
it does not involve any power to act contrary to order,
but it involves all power to act according to order,
for all order is from the Lord . . ..

Because it is of the Divine omnipotence
to lead one who wishes to be led according to order,
and thus to lead no one contrary to order,
therefore it is not of the Divine omnipotence to lead anyone to heaven
who wishes to lead himself,
since it is a law of order that what a person does
he shall do from reason and from freedom,
because that which is received by the reason
and done from freedom remains with a person,
and is appropriated to him as his own,
but not that which is not received by the reason and done from freedom.
Consequently it is clear
that it is not of the Divine omnipotence to save those
who are not willing to be led according to order,
for to be led according to order is to be led according to the laws of order,
and the laws of order are the precepts of doctrine and life from the Word;
it is therefore of the Divine omnipotence to lead a person
who is willing to be led according to these
every moment and continually to eternity.

. . . It is also of the Divine omnipotence to protect people from the hells,
so far as this can be done without injury to freedom and reason;
for all the hells are as nothing against the Lord's Divine power;
without this power of the Lord it is impossible for any person to be saved.

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

AE 687b [6, 9]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

AE 684d - "Anoined"

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

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

AE 684a - "Lord" and "Christ"

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

AE 678 - the glory of the Lord

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

AE 677 - "to become afraid"

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

AE 675a - possessing truths

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

AE 666 - feet

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

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

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

AE 660 - "rejoice and be glad"

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

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

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

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

AE 658 - point of view

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

AE 655a - two forms of capital punishment

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

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

AE 654k - the process

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

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

AE 654j - when servants rule over us

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

AE 654f,g - the natural and the spiritual

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

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

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


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

AE 654c - to be instructed

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

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

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

AE 653a, b - the love of self

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

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

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

AE 652c - rain

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

AE 650g - in the wilderness

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

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

AE 650f - reorganization

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

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

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

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

AE 650a - Psalm 68:9,10

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

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

AE 646 , 647 - our choices

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

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

AE 644d - receiving the Lord

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

AE 461 - the progression

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

AE 638a - being and existence

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

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

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

AE 632 - the holy city

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

AE 630a - three distinct senses

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

AE 629c - only the Lord

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

AE 627 [5] - Divine Truth

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

AE 625 - why we can't make spiritual judgments

AE 625 [2] "Many kings" signify various truths that are from good,
because the peoples and nations outside of the church
were for the most part in falsities as to doctrine,
and yet because they lived a life of love to God
and of charity towards the neighbor
the falsities of their religion were accepted by the Lord as truths,
for the reason that there was inwardly in their falsities the good of love,
and the good of love gives its quality to every truth,
and in this case it gives its quality to the falsity that such accept as truth;
and moreover, the good that lies concealed within causes such
when they come into the other life
to perceive genuine truths and accept them.
Again there are truths that are only appearances of truth,
like those truths that are in the sense of the letter of the Word;
these appearances of truth are accepted by the Lord as genuine truths
when there is in them the good of love to the Lord
and the good of charity towards the neighbor;
and with such in the other life
the good that lies hidden within dissipates the appearances,
and makes bare the spiritual truths which are genuine truths.

[3] . . . the Word must be taught
in respect to the goods of life and the truths of doctrine,
for these two are what the Word in its whole complex contains.

[4] This is the sense of these words abstracted from persons,
which is the truly spiritual sense.
The sense of the letter in most places has regard to persons,
and mentions persons,
but the truly spiritual sense is without any regard whatever to persons.
For angels who are in the spiritual sense of the Word
have no idea of person or of place in any particular
of what they think or speak,
for the idea of person or of place limits and confines the thoughts,
and thereby renders them natural;
it is otherwise when the idea is abstracted from persons and places.
It is from this that angels have intelligence and wisdom,
and that thence angelic intelligence and wisdom are ineffable.
While a person lives in the world he is in natural thought,
and natural thought derives its ideas
from persons, places, times, and material things,
and if these should be taken away from a person,
his thought which comes to perception would perish,
for without these he comprehends nothing;
but angelic thought is apart from ideas drawn from
persons, places, times, and material things;
and this is why angelic thought and speech are ineffable,
and to a person also incomprehensible.

[5] And yet a person who has lived in the world
a life of love to the Lord and of charity towards the neighbor comes,
after his departure from the world, into that ineffable intelligence and wisdom;
for his interior mind, which is the very mind of his spirit, is then opened,
and then the person, when he becomes an angel,
thinks and speaks from that mind,
and consequently thinks and speaks such things
as he could not utter or comprehend in the world.
Such a spiritual mind, which is like the angelic mind, every person has;
but because a person while in the world speaks, sees, hears, and feels,
by means of a material body,
that mind lies hidden within the natural mind, or lives above it;
and what a person thinks in that mind he is wholly ignorant of;
for the thought of that mind then flows into the natural mind,
and there limits, bounds, and so presents itself as to be seen and perceived.
So long as a person is in the body in the world,
he does not know that he has within him this mind,
and in it possesses angelic intelligence and wisdom,
because, as has been said,
all things that abide there flow into the natural mind,
and thus become natural according to correspondences.
This has been said to make known what the Word is in the spiritual sense,
which sense is wholly abstracted from persons and places,
that is, from such things as derive their quality
from the material things of the body and the world.

AE 624a - "What he said to me" (Revelation 10:11)

AE 624a
"What he said to me"
(Revelation 10:11)
. . . what the Lord says is a command . . .

AE 622a - "belly"

AE 622a [8]
. . . because the "belly" signifies from correspondence
the interiors of the understanding and of thought,
and these, if they cleave to the earths there,
are infected and imbued with the falsities of evil.
For this reason, in the spiritual world
no one lies with the belly upon the ground;
and indeed, to walk there with the feet upon the ground
means to touch and drink in
what is exhaled from the hells with the corporeal natural,
which corresponds to the soles of the feet;
and this natural has no communication
with the thoughts of the understanding,
except in those who are in evils in respect to life
and in falsities in respect to doctrine.

AE 619b - Psalm 19:9,10

AE 619b [14]
The judgments of Jehovah are truth, they are righteous altogether;
more desirable than gold and than much fine gold;
and sweeter than honey and the dropping of honeycombs.
(Psalm 19:9, 10)

"Judgments" signify the truths and goods of worship,
therefore it is said
"the judgments of Jehovah are truth, they are righteous altogether;"
"righteous" signifies the good of life and worship therefrom;
and as good is also signified by "gold" and "fine gold,"
it is said that "they are more desirable than gold and than much fine gold,"
"gold" meaning celestial good,
"fine gold" spiritual good,
and "desirable" means what belongs to affection and love.
Since the goods by which a person is affected are delightful
it is said that they are "sweeter than honey and the dropping of honeycombs,"
and that "the words of Jehovah are sweet to the palate,
more than honey to the mouth,"
"sweet" signifying what is delightful,
"honey" natural good,
and "the dropping of honeycombs" natural truth.
And because "honey" means natural good,
and the "mouth" signifies what is external,
it is said "more than honey to my mouth,"
as in Revelation, that "the little book was sweet as honey in the mouth."

AE 617b - God-with-us

AE 617b [8]
Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a Son,
and shall call His name God-with-us;
butter and honey shall He eat,
that He may know to reject the evil and to choose the good.
For before the boy knows to reject the evil and to choose the good
the land which you abhor will be forsaken from before its two kings.
(Isaiah 7:14-16)

It is evident that the "Son" whom the virgin shall conceive and bear,
and whose name shall be called "God-with-us,"
is the Lord in respect to His Human;
the appropriation, in respect to the Human,
of spiritual and natural Divine good is meant by
"butter and honey shall He eat,"
spiritual Divine good by "butter,"
natural Divine good by "honey,"
and appropriation by "eating;"
and because so far as it is known how to reject evil and to choose good,
so far spiritual and natural Divine good is appropriated,
therefore it is said,
"that He may know to reject the evil and to choose the good."

AE 617b [10]
. . . it is useless to endeavor to acquire from what is one's own [proprium]
the good of love and that which nourishes the soul . . .

AE 616 - the active and the reactive

AE 616.
And I went unto the angel, saying, Give me the little book,
(Revelation 10:9)
. . . these words mean the faculty to perceive from the Lord
of what quality the Word is.
It is granted by the Lord to every person to perceive this,
but yet no one does perceive it
unless he wishes as of himself to perceive it.
This ability to reciprocate,
a person must have in order to receive the faculty to perceive the Word;
unless a person wishes and does this as of himself
no such faculty can be appropriated to him;
since, in order that appropriation may be effected,
there must be an active and a reactive;
the active is from the Lord, so is the reactive,
but the latter appears to be from a person;
for the Lord Himself gives this reactive,
and consequently it is from the Lord and not from the person;
but as a person does not know otherwise than that he lives from himself,
and consequently that he thinks and wills from himself,
so he must needs do this as if it were from what is proper to his own life;
and when he so acts,
it is then first implanted in him, and conjoined and appropriated to him.

In brief, action and reaction constitute all conjunction,
and in action and mere passiveness there is no conjunction;
for when the agent or active flows into the mere patient or passive,
it passes through and is dissipated,
for the passive yields and retires;
but when the agent or active flows into a passive that is also a reactive,
then they join together and the two remain conjoined.
Thus it is with the influx of Divine good and Divine truth
into a person's will or love;
for this reason when the Divine flows into the understanding alone
it passes through and is dissipated,
but when it flows into the will,
where what is a person's own (proprium) resides,
it remains conjoined.

AE 612 [6-8] - Glad Tidings!

AE 612 [6-8]
Sing unto Jehovah, bless His name;
proclaim the good tidings of His salvation from day to day;
for Jehovah comes, for He comes to judge the earth;
He shall judge the world in righteousness,
and the peoples in His truth.
(Psalm 96:2, 13)

That when the end of the church is at hand
the good tidings of the Lord's coming will be proclaimed,
is predicted also by the Lord Himself in the Gospels:

The angel said to Zacharias,
I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God;
and I was sent to speak unto thee,
and to proclaim to thee these good things.
(Luke 1:19)

The angel said to the shepherds,
Be not afraid,
behold I proclaim to you good tidings of great joy,
which shall be to all people.
For there is born to you this day, in the city of David,
a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
(Luke 2:10, 11)

Because "to proclaim good tidings"
signifies to announce the Lord's coming, "the good tidings"
in the highest sense signify the Lord Himself in relation to His coming,
in relation to judgment, and to the salvation of the faithful . . .

AE 612 - The Open Word

AE 612
. . . when the end of the church is at hand
the Word is opened
and a new church established.
This is also meant by the Lord's coming,
for the Lord is the Word
wherefore when the Word is opened
the Lord appears.

. . . the Word was opened
when the Lord came into the world . . .

AE 609 - "to create"

AE 609
. . . the signification of "to create,"
as being not only to cause to be,
but also to be perpetually,
by holding it together and sustaining it by the Divine proceeding;
for the heavens have had existence and perpetually have existence,
that is, subsist by means of the Lord's Divine,
which is called the Divine truth united to Divine good.

. . . "to create," in reference to the church and to people of the church,
means to create anew, that is, to regenerate . . .

AE 608b - oaths

AE 608b [8]
. . . merely external or natural people
wish to have the truth confirmed and witnessed to by oaths;
but internal or spiritual people do not wish this;
indeed, they turn away from oaths and shudder at them,
especially those in which God
and the holy things of heaven and the church are appealed to,
and are content with saying and with having it said
that a thing is true, or that it is so.

AE 601a - the lion has roared

AE 601a [8]
The Lord Jehovih will not do a word
unless He shall reveal His secret unto His servants the prophets.
The lion has roared, who will not fear?
The Lord Jehovih has spoken, who will not prophesy?
(Amos 3:7, 8)

"The Lord Jehovih will not do a word
unless He has revealed His secret to His servants the prophets"
signifies that the Lord opens
the interior things of the Word and of doctrine
to those who are in truths from good;
"to reveal a secret,"
signifies to enlighten and to open the interior things of the Word;
"His servants the prophets"
signify those who are in the truths of doctrine and who receive;
"the lion has roared, who will not fear?"
signifies a powerful revelation and manifestation of Divine truth;
"the Lord Jehovih has spoken, who will not prophesy?"
signifies its reception and manifestation.
The Lord is called "Lord Jehovih" when good is treated of.

AE 600a - "the Father"

AE 600a [6]
. . . "the Father" meaning the Divine good of the Divine love,
from which is heaven and everything of heaven . . .

AE 600a - right hand; fishing in a boat

The "right hand" signifies good which is a source of truth,
and the "left hand" truth from good . . .

Jesus said to the disciples who were fishing,
Cast the net on the right side of the boat, then ye shall find.
They cast, therefore,
and they were no longer able to draw it for the multitude of fishes.
(John 21:6)
Since "fishing" signifies in the Word
the instruction and conversion of people who are in external or natural good,
in which good were most of the Gentiles at that time,
"fish" signifying the things of the natural man,
and "boat" doctrine from the Word;
therefore "the right side of the boat" signifies the good of life.
This makes clear the signification of what the Lord said,
"Cast the net on the right side of the boat,"
namely, that they should teach the good of life.
That they would thus convert the Gentiles to the church
is signified by their finding in such abundance
that "they were not able to draw the net for the multitude of fishes."

AE 595 - "the bow in the cloud"

AE 595 [5]
. . . all light in heaven is spiritual,
and in its essence is the Divine truth proceeding from the Lord.
From this it can be seen that "the bow in the cloud or rainbow"
signifies spiritual Divine truth translucent through natural Divine truth,
and there is such a translucence with those
who are being reformed and regenerated by the Lord
by means of Divine truth and a life according to it.
In the heavens also this very translucence appears as a rainbow.

AE 594d - Divine truth, heaven and angels

AE 594d [18]
. . . whether you say Divine truth or the heavens it is the same,
since the heavens are heavens from Divine truth,
and the angels there are angels from the reception of Divine truth.

AE 593 - "strong angel"

AE 593
And I saw another strong angel coming down out of heaven,
(Revelation 10:1)
signifies the Lord as to the Word,
here as to its ultimate sense,
which is called the sense of the letter.
This is evident from the signification of a "strong angel,"
as being the Lord as to the Word . . .
for all the strength and all the power of Divine truth
exist and consist in its ultimate,
consequently in the sense of the letter of the Word.

[2] Because it is the sense of the letter of the Word that is meant,
therefore it is said that the angel was seen "coming down out of heaven."
The like is said of the Word, which is the Divine truth;
this comes down from the Lord through the heavens into the world,
consequently it is adapted to the wisdom of the angels
who are in the three heavens,
and is also adapted to people who are in the natural world.
For this reason the Word in its first origin of all is wholly Divine,
afterward celestial, then spiritual, and lastly natural;
it is celestial for the angels of the inmost or third heaven,
who are called celestial angels,
it is spiritual for the angels of the second or middle heaven
who are called spiritual angels,
and it is celestial-natural and spiritual-natural
for the angels of the ultimate or first heaven
who are called celestial-natural and spiritual-natural angels,
and it is natural for people in the world;
for so long as people live in a material body they think and speak naturally.
This then is why the Word is with the angels of each heaven,
but with a difference according to the degrees
of their wisdom, intelligence, and knowledge [scientia];
and although it differs in its sense in each heaven,
still it is the same Word,
because it is the Divine itself . . . .

AE 586 - "That they should not adore demons"; AE 587a - light vs. darkness

AE 586
That they should not adore demons, (Revelation 9:20)
signifies that they should not worship their own cupidities.
. . . The affection of evil and falsity is what is called cupidity,
and is what is signified by "demon."
[2] But what is meant by "worshiping demons" shall also be told briefly.
Every person is associated with spirits;
without association and conjunction with them no one can live;
and the spirits with a person are such as his affections or cupidities are;
therefore when a person in his worship
does not look to the Lord or to the neighbor,
but looks to himself and to the world, that is,
when he worships God for the sole end of being carried to honors,
and of gaining wealth, or of being able to do injury to others,
then he worships demons;
for then the Lord is not present in his worship,
but infernal spirits are present . . .

AE 587a [2]
. . . when the light of the world is separated from the light of heaven
there is thick darkness in things spiritual.

AE 585b - "In that day . . ."

AE 585b [7]
In that day shall a man look to his Maker,
and his eyes shall see the Holy One of Israel,
and he shall not look to the altars, the work of his hands,
and he shall not see that which his fingers have made.
(Isaiah 17:7, 8)

This is said of the Lord's coming and of a new church at that time.
"The Maker to whom a man shall then look"
means the Lord in relation to Divine good,
and "the Holy One of Israel whom his eyes shall see"
means the Lord in relation to Divine truth.
The "altars, which are the work of hands,
and which the fingers have made, to which a man shall not look,"
signify worship from evils and the consequent falsities of doctrine
that are from self-intelligence.
So these words mean
that everything of doctrine will be from the Lord
and not from a person's self [proprium],
which is the case when a person is in the spiritual affection of truth,
that is, when he loves truth itself because it is truth,
and not for the most part because it gives him reputation and a name.

AE 581a - craftiness

AE 581a [3]
. . . evil conceals in itself all craftiness and malice,
as good does in all prudence and wisdom.

AE 575 - What are real visions?

AE 575 [3]
As the prophets, by whom the Word was written, had real visions,
and others who were also called prophets had visions that were not real,
but their visions were vain and are called "lies,"
it is important that it should be known what visions are.
All things that really appear in the spiritual world are correspondences,
for they correspond to the interiors of angels,
which are the things of their minds,
that is, of their affection and of their thought therefrom,
and therefore such things are signified by them.
For the spiritual,
which is of the affection and the consequent thought of the angels,
clothes itself with such forms
as appear in the three kingdoms of the natural world,
the animal, the vegetable, and the mineral,
and all these forms are correspondences,
such as appeared to the prophets,
and which signify the things to which they corresponded.
But in the spiritual world there can be appearances also
that are not correspondences;
and these are produced by spirits, especially evil spirits,
by means of fantasies,
for by means of fantasies such spirits can present to the view palaces,
and houses full of decorations, also decorated garments;
they can also induce upon themselves beautiful faces,
and other like appearances;
but as soon as the fantasy ceases all these things vanish,
because they are external in which there is nothing internal.
As such visions are from fantasies they signify fallacies
because they deceive the senses
and fallaciously present to view things like real things.

AE 575 - visions

AE 575 [2]
Visions, which and from which a person or the spirit of person sees,
are of a twofold kind;
there are real visions and visions that are not real;
real visions are visions of such things as really appear in the spiritual world,
corresponding altogether with the thoughts and affections of angels,
consequently they are real correspondences.
Such were the visions that the prophets had who prophesied truths;
such also were the visions that appeared to John,
and that are described throughout Revelation.
But visions that are not real
have the same appearance in the external form as real visions,
but not in the internal form;
they are produced by spirits by means of fantasies.
Such visions those prophets had who prophesied vain things or lies.
All such visions, because they are not real are fallacies,
and thus they also signify fallacies.

AE 573a - hosts, angels

AE 573a [5]
The angels gathered together, or a company of them, is called "a host,"
because "the angels,"the same as "hosts" signify Divine truths and goods,
because they are recipients of these from the Lord.

AE 572 - becoming a spiritual person

AE 572
. . . a person has spiritual life through his understanding,
for he becomes a spiritual person
in the measure in which his understanding is opened
and permits itself to be enlightened by means of truths.
But it is by means of truths from good that the understanding is opened,
not by means of truths without good;
for person thinks truth so far as he lives in the good of love and charity.
Truth indeed is the form of good,
and all good with a person is of his will,
and all truth is of his understanding;
therefore the good of the will
presents its form in the understanding,
and the form itself
is thought from the understanding
which is from the will.

AE 569c - different kinds of reasonings

AE 569c [20, 23]
. . . by means of the Word there is conjunction of the Lord with the church,
and when the Word is perverted by reasonings
that favor evils and falsities there is no longer any conjunction . . .

Reasonings from the spiritual person are rational, and therefore might better be called conclusions from reason and from truths, because they are from the interior and from the light of heaven;
but reasonings from the natural person respecting spiritual things are not rational, however rational they may be in things moral and civil, which are evident before the eyes, because they are from natural light alone;
but reasonings from the sensual person respecting spiritual things are irrational, because they are from fallacies and thus from ideas that are false; these are the reasonings here treated of and in the Apocalypse.

AE 569a - genuine reasonings

AE 569a [2]
It is known in the church
that the natural person does not perceive the things of heaven
unless the Lord flows in and enlightens,
which influx is through the spiritual of a person . . ..
Genuine reasonings respecting spiritual things
spring from the influx of heaven into the spiritual of a person,
and thence through the rational into the knowledges and cognitions
which are in the natural person,
by means of which the spiritual person confirms himself.
This way of reasoning respecting spiritual things is according to order.
But reasonings about spiritual things that come from the natural person,
and still more those that come from the sensual person,
are entirely contrary to order;
for the natural person cannot flow into the spiritual person
and see anything there from itself,
still less can the sensual person,
since there is no physical influx;
but the spiritual person can flow into the natural
and from that into the sensual,
since there is spiritual influx.

AE 559 - true elevation

AE 559 [6]
Thus Jehovah shall make you as the head, and not as the tail;
and you shalt be above only, and you shalt not be beneath,
if you will hearken unto the commandments of your God.
(Deuteronomy 28:13)

"To make as the head"
means to make spiritual and intelligent,
and thus to elevate out of the light of the world into the light of heaven;
and "to make as the tail"
means to make sensual and foolish,
so as not to look to heaven but only to the world . . .
"to be above" meaning to be elevated by the Lord so as to look to heaven,
and "to be beneath" meaning not to be elevated by the Lord, but by self,
and a person by self looks only to the world.
For the interiors of a person which belong to his thought and affection
are elevated to heaven by the Lord
when a person is in the good of life and consequently in the truths of doctrine;
but when he is in the evil of life and thence in falsities,
his lower things look downward,
thus only to his body and to such things as are in the world, and thus to hell.
Thus a person puts off his truly human nature and puts on a beastly nature,
for beasts look downward and to such things only
as are met with in the world and upon the earth.
Elevation into the light of heaven by the Lord
is an actual elevation of a person's interiors to the Lord;
and a depression or casting down
to such things as are below and outside the eyes
is an actual depression and casting down of the interiors,
and when this takes place,
all the thought of the spirit is immersed in the ultimate sensual.

AE 556b - the law in heaven

AE 556b [8]
"All things whatsoever you would that men should do to you,
do you even so to them;
this is the law and the prophets."
(Matthew vii. 12; Luke vi. 31)

Because this is the law in heaven,
and from heaven in the church,
therefore also every evil has with itself a corresponding punishment,
called the punishment of evil,
which is in the evil, as if conjoined with it.
From this proceeds the punishment of retaliation,
which was prescribed to the sons of Israel,
because they were external and not internal people.
Internal people, as the angels of heaven are,
do not desire to retaliate evil for evil,
but from heavenly charity they forgive,
for they know that the Lord defends against the evil all who are in good,
that He defends according to the good which they possess,
and that He would not defend, if, on account of the evil done to them,
they were to be fired by enmity, hatred, and revenge,
for these things turn protection aside.

AE 555a - "to bake"

AE 555a [12]
. . . "to bake" signifies to prepare and conjoin
that it may serve for the use of life . . .

AE 555a - the Word is inwardly spiritual because it is Divine

AE 555a [2]
For the Word is inwardly spiritual, because it is Divine;
but if man and woman, old man and babe,
youth and virgin meant such persons,
the Word would not be spiritual but natural;
but it becomes spiritual when "man and woman"
mean the church in respect to truth and its affection,
"old man and babe"
the church in respect to wisdom and innocence,
and "young man and virgin"
the church in respect to intelligence and its affection.
Moreover, a person is a person because the church is in him,
and where the church is, there is heaven.
When, therefore, a person as "old," "young," an "infant," a "male,"
also "woman" and "virgin" are mentioned,
these expressions signify whatever pertains to the church,
corresponding to their age, sex, inclination,
affection, intelligence, and wisdom.

AC 549 - the sensual & persuasion

AE 549
. . . the darkening and drawing away from seeing the truth
is caused by the persuasion with which the mind is infatuated.

AE 552 [2]
The sensual person, who is in falsities from evil,
reasons as if from an understanding of truth,
because he is in the persuasion
that falsity is truth and that evil is good;
and so long as he is in that persuasion
he can see nothing rationally and intellectually;
but whatever he has persuaded himself of,
he believes to be a matter of the highest reason
and most eminent understanding;
for the rational and intellectual in him is closed up,
and thus he is in a persuasive belief
respecting the things he thinks and speaks.

AE 545, 549

AE 545 [2]
. . . he who denies that the Word is Divine in the entire sense of the letter,
breaks off his connection with heaven,
because it is through the Word that a person has connection with heaven.

AE 549
. . . a strong persuasiveness has not only the power of infatuating
but also of suffocating . . .

AE 544 - obdurate = obstinate, stubborn, inflexible, pig-headed

AE 544 [3]
"To dwell among scorpions" (Ezekiel 2:6)
means among those who have persuaded themselves,
and strongly persuade others, of falsities,
and who do not admit any truth;
therefore they are called "stubborn and thorny,"
also "hard of face and obdurate in heart."
Moreover, in those who are in a strong persuasion of falsity
the interiors which belong to the rational mind are closed up,
consequently they think and speak from the lowest sensual only,
and when this sensual is enkindled by the fire of self-love
it is hard and obdurate,
and also hardens and makes obdurate
the interiors of others who it addresses.

[4] . . . wisdom is of truth from good,
while cunning is of falsity from evil;
and falsity from evil destroys truth from good . . .

AE 543c - a caution regarding the sensual

AE 543c
The sensual person falsifies the Word more than others,
because the ultimate sense of the Word,
which is the sense of its letter,
is for the natural and sensual person,
while the interior sense is for the spiritual person;
consequently when a person is not a spiritual person,
but is natural and sensual,
and is in evil and in falsities therefrom,
he does not see the truths and goods in the Word,
but applies its ultimate sense to confirm his falsities and evils.

AE 543a - stages

AE 543a [2-3]
But here it shall first be told what is meant by a person's ultimate sensual.
It does not mean the sensual of sight, of hearing,
of smell, of taste, and of touch, for these things are proper to the body,
but the ultimate of thought and affection,
which is the first to be opened with infants,
and which is such that they think of nothing else
and are affected by no other objects
than what make one with the senses just named.
For infants learn to think by means of the senses,
and to be affected by objects
that are in accord with the things that are pleasing to the senses;
consequently the first internal that is opened with them is the sensual
that is called a person's ultimate sensual, or the corporeal-sensual.
But afterwards, as the infant grows older and becomes a child,
a more interior sensual is opened,
from which he thinks naturally, and is also affected naturally.

Later, in youth and early adulthood, a still more interior sensual is opened,
from which he thinks rationally,
and if he is in the good of charity and faith, he thinks spiritually,
and is also affected rationally and spiritually.
This thought and affection is what is called the rational and spiritual person,
while the former is called the natural person, and the first the sensual person.

With every person the interiors
that are of his thought and affection are opened successively,
and this by a continuous influx out of heaven from the Lord.
By this influx the sensual that most nearly adheres to the body is first formed,
and from this person becomes sensual;
afterwards the natural from which he becomes natural;
and after this the rational and with it the spiritual,
from which he becomes a rational and spiritual person;
but this he becomes only so far as he thinks
about God and about the Divine things that are from God,
and this is formed and perfected so far as he is affected by these things,
that is, so far as he wills and lives according to them.

AE 539a - smoke

AE 539a [2,4]
"Sodom and Gomorrah" in the spiritual sense
mean those who are altogether in the loves of self;
therefore the smoke that Abraham saw rising from their land after the burning,
signifies the dense falsity pertaining to those
who are altogether in the love of self;
for those who love themselves supremely
are in the thickest darkness in respect to things spiritual and celestial,
for they are merely natural and sensual,
and are wholly separated from heaven;
and then they not only deny Divine things,
but they think out falsities by which to destroy them.
These falsities are what are signified
by the "smoke" seen rising from Sodom and Gomorrah.

. . . the Lord appears to everyone according to his quality;
to those who are in truths from good He appears as a serene light,
but to those who are in falsities from evil as smoke from fire.

AE 538b - in the spiritual sense

AE 538b [12]
. . . in the spiritual sense of the Word
there is much that treats of the Lord's temptations
by which He subjugated the hells
and arranged all things in order in the heavens and in the hells,
and by which He glorified His Human . . .

AE 537a - truth and good together

AE 537a [4,5]
. . . salvation is from the Lord by means of Divine truth from the Word . . ..

. . . as every truth is from good,
or everything of faith from charity,
and as those who separate and exclude good from truth,
or charity from faith,
possess no genuine truth of doctrine,
but every truth of the Word with them is like the meaning of the mere words
with no perception of the thing,
thus like a shell without a kernel,
so they dispute about the truths of faith . . ..

AE 535 & 536 - communication & conjunction

AE 535 [3]
. . . the essential thing in heaven is the good of life,
which is the same as the good of love to the Lord
and the good of charity towards the neighbor;
for in heaven everyone has perception of truth,
intelligence, and wisdom, in accordance with that good.

AE 536 [3]
. . . it is by means of the Sacred Scripture or the Word
that there is communication and consequent conjunction with heaven,
. . . and truths are what open the communication,
and the goods of truth are what constitute conjunction,
while truths falsified, which in themselves are the falsities of evil,
are what cause disjunction . . .

AE 529 - and again

AE 529
. . . where the Lord is present, there is enlightenment.

AE 526 - a cloud & His glory

AE 526 [16]
. . . as the sense of the letter of the Word is natural,
that sense also is called in the Word "a cloud," and also "darkness,"
in comparison with the internal spiritual sense,
which is the light of heaven, and is called "glory."

AE 520 - truth is to be applied to confirm the goods of life

AE 520
. . . all things of the Word are truths,
but when they are applied and made use of
to confirm evils of the life, and false principles of religion,
then the truths of the Word are intermingled with the falsities of evil,
and they are consequently no longer truths,
but truths falsified, which in themselves are falsities.
In order that the truths of the sense of the letter of the Word
may continue to be truths,
they must be applied to confirm goods of the life,
and true principles of religion,
but if they are drawn aside and diverted from this application as their end,
they are no longer truths,
because there is not any perception of truth in them.
Perception of truth comes from good, but not from evil.

AE 518b - trees & gardens; rivers & waters

AE 518b
Where trees and gardens are treated of in the Word,
waters and rivers to water them are also mentioned,
for the reason that "trees" signify perceptions and knowledges,
and "waters" and "rivers" truths and understanding therefrom;
for without the understanding of truths
a person is like a garden where there is no water,
whose trees wither away.

As the valleys are they planted,
as gardens by the river,
as aloes which Jehovah has planted,
and as cedar-trees beside the waters.
(Numbers 24:6)

AE 517 - two states of thought

AE 517 [3]
There are two states of a person's thoughts,
one when from the Lord he is in thought respecting truths,
the other when from himself.
When from the Lord he is in thought respecting truths
his mind is elevated even into the light of heaven,
from which he has illustration and right perception of truth;
but when from himself he is in thought respecting truths,
his mind falls into the light of the world;
and that light, in respect to things spiritual,
or the things of heaven and the church,
is thick darkness,
in which a person sees only such things
as shine from the fire or the love of self and of the world,
and these in themselves are falsities that are opposites of truths.

AE 514 - ships & calming the storm

AE 514
And a third part of the ships perished.
(Revelation 8:9)
signifies that also all the knowledges from the Word,
and from doctrines from the Word perished.
This is evident from the signification of "the third part,"
as being everything, here all,
because it is predicated of the knowledges of truth and good;
also from the signification of "ships,"
as being the knowledges of truth and good, also doctrinals.
"Ships" have this signification
because they carry riches over the sea for traffic,
and "riches" signify in the Word the knowledges of truth and good,
which also are doctrinals.

[12] They that go down to the sea in ships,
that do work in many waters;
these see the deeds of Jehovah and His wonders in the deep.
(Psalm 107:23, 24).
"They that go down to the sea in ships, that do work in many waters,"
signify those who intensely study the doctrine of truth from the Word;
"these see the deeds of Jehovah and His wonders in the deep,"
signifies that they understand the truths and goods
of heaven and the church, and the hidden things thereof,
"the deeds of Jehovah"
meaning all things of the Word that perfect a person,
all which have reference to truth and good,
and "the wonders in the deep"
meaning the hidden things of intelligence and wisdom.

[20-23 portions] As all things in the Old Testament
contain in themselves a spiritual sense,
so do all things in the New Testament
which are in the Gospels and in Revelation.
Moreover, all the Lord's words and doings and miracles
signify Divine celestial things,
because the Lord spoke from the Divine,
and did His works and miracles from the Divine,
therefore from things first through things last, and thus in fullness.
From this it can be seen
that the Lord's teaching from boats was significative;
also that it was significative that He chose certain of His disciples
from boats while they were fishing;
and that He walked upon the sea to the boat in which the disciples were,
and consequently calmed the wind.

. . . when it is daybreak and morning is at hand,
then good begins to act through truth,
and then the Lord comes;
that the sea in the meanwhile was moved by the wind,
and that the Lord restrained it,
signifies the natural state of life that precedes,
which is an unpeaceful and as it were tempestuous state;
but with the state that is nearest to morning,
which is the first state of the church with a person,
because the Lord is then present in the good of love,
there comes tranquillity of mind.

[22] The like is signified by the Lord's calming the wind
and the waves of the sea, as described in the Gospels:

When Jesus had entered into a boat His disciples followed Him.
And behold, there arose a great commotion in the sea,
so that the boat was covered by the waves; but He was asleep.
Therefore the disciples, coming to Him awoke Him,
saying, Lord, save us; we perish.
Then He arose and rebuked the wind;
and there was a great calm.
(Matthew 8:23-26; Mark 4:36-40; Luke 8:23, 24)

This represented the state of people of the church
when they are in what is natural and not yet in what is spiritual,
in which state the natural affections,
which are various cupidities springing from the loves of self and the world,
rise up and produce various commotions of the mind.
In this state the Lord appears as it were absent;
this apparent absence is signified by His being asleep;
but when they come out of a natural into a spiritual state
these commotions cease,
and there comes tranquillity of mind;
for the Lord calms the tempestuous commotions
of the natural of a person when the spiritual mind is opened,
and through it the Lord flows into the natural.
Since the affections that are of the love of self and of the world,
and the consequent thoughts and reasonings, are from hell,
for they are lusts of every kind
that rise up therefrom into the natural of a person,
these, too, are signified by "the wind and the waves of the sea,"
and hell itself is signified by the "sea" in the spiritual sense.

This can be seen, too, from its being said that
"the Lord rebuked the wind," as also in Mark:
Jesus awoke and rebuked the wind,
and said unto the sea,
Be quiet, be still.
And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.
(Mark 4:39)

AE 513 - manna & quail

AE 513 [6]
The sons of Israel said in the wilderness,
We remember the fish that we did eat in Egypt freely,
and the cucumbers and the melons,
and the leeks and the onions and the garlic;
now our soul is dried up;
there is nothing at all except this manna before our eyes.
Afterwards there went forth a wind from Jehovah,
and snatched quails from the sea,
and let them fall over the camp.
But because of this lust
Jehovah smote the people with a very great plague;
consequently the name of that place was called the Graves of Lust.
(Numbers 11:5, 6, 31, 33, 34)

This signified that the sons of Israel were averse from things spiritual
and hungered after natural things;
indeed, they were not spiritual but merely natural,
only representing a spiritual church by external things.
That they were averse from spiritual things is signified by
"our soul is dried up,
there is nothing at all except this manna before our eyes,"
"manna" signifying spiritual food,
which is knowledge (scientia), intelligence, and wisdom.
That they hungered after natural things is signified by
"their lusting after the fish in Egypt,
the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic,"
all which signify such things as belong to the lowest natural,
that is, the sensual-corporeal of a person;
and because they rejected things spiritual,
and coveted merely natural things instead,
"they were smitten with a great plague,
and the name given to the place was the Graves of Lust."

AE 504 - before the Lord came

AE 504 [31]
In Luke, the Lord said that He came to send fire on the earth;
and what would He if it were already kindled? (Luke 12:49);
which signifies hostilities and combats between good and evil,
and between truth and falsity;
for before the Lord came into the world
there were in the church nothing but falsities and evils,
consequently there was no combat between these and truths and goods;
but when truths and goods had been unveiled by the Lord,
then it was possible for combats to exist,
and without combats between these there can be no reformation . . ..

AE 503 - hail & fire

AE 503 [7]
At the brightness before Him His clouds passed,
with hail and coals of fire.
Jehovah thundered in the heavens,
and the Most High uttered His voice,
hail and coals of fire.
And He sent forth His arrows and scattered them,
and many lightnings and discomfited them.
(Psalm 18:12-14)

Here "hail and fire" have a similar signification
as the "hail and fire" in this passage in Revelation (chap 8:7),
namely, falsities and evils destroying the truths and goods of the church.
It is said that such things are from Jehovah,
because Divine truth coming down out of heaven
is changed with the evil into infernal falsities. . .
and from this change there spring forth many appearances
such as the fall of hail and fire;
and yet these things are not out of heaven from the Lord,
but from those who are in the falsities of evil,
who turn the influx of Divine truth and good into the falsity of evil.
. . . there is nothing from Jehovah but what is good;
and when Jehovah, that is, the Lord, renders the influx powerful,
it is not that He may destroy the evil
but that He may rescue and protect the good,
for He thus conjoins the good to Himself more closely and interiorly,
and thus they are separated from the evil, and the evil perish;
for if the evil were not separated
the good would perish and the angelic heaven would fall to ruin.

AE 502 - the sound of the trumpet at Jericho

AE 502 [11]
It was commanded
that seven priests should bear seven jubilee horns before the ark,
and should go round the city six days, once each day,
and on the seventh day they should go round the city seven times,
and blow the horns;
and when the people in Jericho heard the voice of the horn
and the shoutings of the people,
the wall of the city fell down under itself,
and the people went up into the city and took it.
(Joshua 6:1-20)

These things represented the overcoming of the evil in the spiritual world,
which is effected by Divine truth out of heaven,
which is heard there when it flows down as a horn sounding,
as was said above.
All the miracles related in the Word were representative
and consequently significative of things Divine in the heavens;
therefore the effect of the sound of horns against enemies on earth
was like the effect against the evil in the spiritual world;
for in the Word "enemies" represented and thence signified the evil . . ..

AE 493 - prayers, life, truth

AE 493
. . . "that he should offer the incense
with the prayers of all the saints
upon the golden altar which is before the throne,"
(Revelation 8:4)
The "prayers" with which the incense was to be offered
do not mean prayers,
but truths from good,
by means of which prayers are offered;
for truths with a person are what pray,
and a person is continually in such prayers
when he lives according to truths.

AE 483 - be careful where ideas come from

AE 483 [16]
A person's proprium resides in the sensual and natural of a person,
therefore conclusions formed from these alone
are formed from the proprium,
or from a person's own intelligence;
for the Divine flows in through the spiritual of a person into the natural,
but not into the natural when the spiritual above it is closed,
whereas the spiritual of a person is opened by means of truths,
and by a life according to them.

AE 478 - good & truth; living, instruction, service

AE 478 [2]
. . . good derives its essence from truths;
for the good is the esse [inmost being] of truth,
and truth is the form of good,
where, as is the quality of truths,
such is good.

From these considerations also, it is clear,
that although anyone may live well,
yet he cannot come into heaven until he is in truths.
On this account, there are places of instruction
for those who are about to come into heaven,
for no one can enter there until he has been instructed.

[3] . . . serving the Lord is to be in truths,
and to act sincerely and justly in everything;
for then the principles of truth, sincerity, and justice,
that are with a person,
serve the Lord.

AE 475 - washing

AE 475
"And they did wash their robes" (Revelation 7:14)

[2] In ancient times, when all the externals of the church were
representative and significative of things spiritual and celestial,
washings were made use of,
and they represented purifications from falsities and evils;
"washings" had this signification because
"waters" signified truths,
and "filth" falsities and evils,
and all purification from falsities and evils is effected by truths.

[7] the internal of a person is purified
by knowing, understanding, and thinking the truths of the Word,
and the external of a person,
by willing and doing them.

[19] Because "the waters of Jordan"
signified the truths that introduce into the church,
which are the knowledges of truth and good from the Word,
and "washing" therein signified purification from falsities,
and consequent reformation and regeneration by the Lord,
therefore baptism was instituted,
which was first performed in Jordan by John
(Matt. 3:11-16; Mark 1:4-13).
This rite signified
initiation into the knowledges from the Word respecting the Lord,
His coming, and salvation by Him;
and as a person is reformed and regenerated by the Lord
by means of truths from the Word,
baptism was commanded by the Lord:

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name
of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
and teaching them to obey everything
I have commanded you.
And surely I am with you always,
to the very end of the age.”
(Matt. 28:19-20);

for it is by means of truths from the Word
that a person is reformed and regenerated,
and it is the Lord who reforms and regenerates.

[21] The internal of baptism is,
that by means of truths from the Word
and a life according to them,
falsities and evils may be removed by the Lord,
and thus a person be regenerated,
as the Lord teaches

Blind Pharisee!
First clean the inside of the cup and dish,
and then the outside also will be clean.
“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees,
you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs,
which look beautiful on the outside
but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead
and everything unclean.
(Matt. 23:26, 27).

AE 463 "to fall on the faces before God"

AE 463
. . . "falling upon the face" signifies humiliation of heart,
since to fall upon the face corresponds to such humiliation;
for all the acts of the body
so correspond to the affections of the mind
that the two make one by correspondences;
thus to fall upon the face before God in worship
makes one by correspondence with humiliation of the heart.
From this it became a custom with the ancients,
and it still continues with many nations,
to fall upon the very face in worship;
while in the Christian world at present
it is the custom simply to fall upon the knees.

AE 455 - falsities

AE 455 [16]
All falsities of doctrine in the church,
and all falsifications of the Word,
exist also from the pride of a person's own intelligence,
and from the love of self.

AE 453 - numbering

AE 453
. . . no person and no angel knows
the quality of good and truth with another
in every series and connection,
but only something of it that is apparent in externals;
and yet every quality is of infinite extension,
for it joins and associates itself with innumerable things
that lie concealed within, and that abide without,
and that spread out in every direction.
All this no one sees but the Lord alone;
therefore it is the Lord alone by whom all are arranged
and disposed according to their quality,
for He sees the quality of everyone,
thus what his nature is and what will happen to him to eternity,
since the Lord's sight which is called
omniscience, foresight, and providence, is eternal.
This is why no one except the Lord alone
knows the quality of good and truth with anyone.

[5] "To number" and "to be numbered" have a different
signification in the spiritual sense of the Word
from that which they have in the letter or its natural sense,
as is evident from the fact that with angels in heaven,
numbers and measures have no place in their spiritual idea,
that is, they do not think from numbering or measuring,
but from the quality of a thing;
but this thought of theirs falls into numbers and measures
when it comes down therefrom into the natural sphere;
and yet the Word is written equally for angels as for people,
consequently angels, in numbers and numbering in the Word,
perceive the quality of the thing treated of,
while people understand numbers and numbering.

AE 447 - the tribes of Naphtali & Zebulun

AE 447 [4]
. . . "the tribes of Naphtali and Zebulun"
signify combat from truth that is from good,
"the tribe of Naphtali"
combat,
and "the tribe of Zebulun"
the conjunction of good and truth,
therefore these two tribes only,
and not the other tribes,
were taken to fight.

AE 445 - living for reward

AE 445
If a person is living according to the Lord's commandments,
it is permissible for him to think of eternal life, salvation and heavenly joy;
but it is not permissible for him to keep his mind intent upon reward,
for if he does so he has reward as an end,
and easily falls into the thought
that by his life he deserves heaven and salvation,
and this thought causes him to have regard to self in every particular,
and such regard to self removes him from heaven;
for no so far as a person looks to self in what he does,
he does not look to heaven.

AE 444 - charity and spiritual affection

AE 444a
Charity, itself, viewed in itself,
is the affection of truth and good,
and where that affection is,
there is a life according to truths and goods . . ..

[3] Love and charity are the spiritual affection of good and truth . . ..

AE 444b [10]
. . . those who are in the spiritual affection of truth
do the Word
and teach the goods and truths of the church,
for the spiritual affection of truth is what does and teaches,
since it is into that affection that the Lord flows,
doing the good with a person
and teaching the truth with him . . ..

AE 443a - those in the first or lowest heaven

AE 443a [2]
Those belonging to this first or lowest heaven
are all obedient in doing the truths and goods
that are commanded in the Word
or in the doctrine of the church in which they were born,
or that they have heard from some master or religious teacher,
from whom they have heard that this or that is true and good,
and ought to be done.
Most of these are not in truths themselves,
but in falsities from ignorance,
nevertheless these falsities are accepted by the Lord as truths
because they have the good of life for their end,
and by this the evils that usually cling to falsities are removed
(respecting these falsities, and those who are in them,
see in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem, n. 21).
Such, then, are in the lowest or first heaven.

AE 440b - brethren

AE 440b [7]
. . . good and truth are called brethren in the Word.

AE 439 - "Wrestlings with God"

AE 439
. . . every temptation is a combat
between the spiritual person and the natural;
for the spiritual person
loves and wills the things that are of heaven,
since it is in heaven,
while the natural person
loves and wills the things that are of the world,
since it is in the world;
consequently the desires of the two are opposite,
which gives rise to collision and combat,
and this is called temptation.

[3] . . . the state after temptation,
in which a person is filled with every good of love
and with truths therefrom;
for after temptations he is filled with joy,
and good bears fruit,
and truth is multiplied with him . . .

AE 438 - charity

AE 438 [3]
. . . charity towards the neighbor
is the spiritual affection of truth;
and the spiritual affection of truth
is to love truth in its essence,
that is, to love truth because it is truth;
moreover, the neighbor, in the spiritual sense,
is nothing else than good and truth,
and charity is love for this.