AC 3688 - giving to the poor

AC 3688
[3] Take as our example the kind of person who can be regenerated; for the Lord foresees that he can be, and because He foresees it He also makes provision for it. At the outset while a young child he does not yet know what the works of charity towards the neighbour are, for he does not yet know what charity is or what the neighbour is. Consequently because he knows from the Word that one ought to give to the poor and that anyone who does so has his reward in heaven he helps beggars more than all others for he believes that these are the poor who are meant in the Word. He does not take into account the fact that the kind of people who beg on the streets for the most part lead godless and even criminal lives, despise everything associated with Divine worship, and surrender themselves completely to laziness and inactivity. Nonetheless a person in the first stages of regeneration helps those people with all his heart. These good actions are examples of the good which springs from external truth and with which his regeneration begins. The truth of good, which is more internal, flows accordingly into those actions, fashioning these as directed by the cognitions which the child knows?

[4] At a later stage however, when more enlightened, he is willing to do good to all he believes to be poor and needy, but he still makes scarcely any distinction between the godly poor and needy and the ungodly poor and needy. He believes that all are to be regarded and rated equally as the neighbour. But when he becomes more enlightened in these matters he does make a distinction and provides help only to the good and upright. He knows that providing help to the evil does harm to many, for by the aid and support these get he gives them the opportunity to harm others. At length when he is being regenerated he does not do good to any but the good and the godly, for at this point he is not stirred by an affection simply for the person he does good to but by the good itself residing with that person. And since the Lord is present within all good and godliness he accordingly bears witness also, through his affection towards what is good, to his love to the Lord. When he is at heart moved by charity such as this he can become regenerate.

[5] From this it is evident that in relation to this state his previous state was an inverse one, that is to say, he believed that to be good which was not in fact good. Nevertheless at the beginning of regeneration he still had to put into practice that which, though not in fact good, he believed to be so since what he knew went no further and since more interior good that flows from charity was not able to enter into any truth apart from that of which he actually knew. It is also evident that more interior good was always present and fashioning it, and this good could not have manifested itself previously until by means of cognitions he had been gradually enlightened about the nature of goods and truths. From this it is evident to some extent what is meant by the good of truth, which 'Jacob' represents here, what is meant by the truth of good, which 'Esau' represents, and that at first these exist inversely but subsequently are joined together.

AC 3680 - knowledges of good; knowledges of truth

AC 3680
They are called the knowledges of good,
because all truths are knowledges of good;
and truths which are not from good,
or which do not look to good as the end,
are not truths;
but insofar as they look to doctrine,
they are called the knowledges of truth.

AC 3671 - growing seeds

AC 3671 [2]
Understanding good and truth and willing them
is the function of the rational,
and perceptions of good and truth 
resulting from this
are like seeds;
but knowing them and doing them
is the function of the natural.
Facts and deeds are like the soil.
When a person has an affection for the facts
that corroborate what is good and true,
the more so when he experiences joy
in bringing them into act,
those facts are seeds
that are present and growing in the natural
as their own proper soil;
and there they grow.
As a consequence good is made fruitful
and truth is multiplied,
and they are constantly springing up out of that soil
into the rational and perfecting it.
The situation is different
when a person understands what is good and true,
and also interiorly perceives that he wills something,
and yet does not desire to know these things,
let alone do them.
 In that case good cannot be made fruitful
nor truth be multiplied within the rational.

SD 4832 - our material world

SD 4832
This happens in a spiritual manner,
not capable of being expressed by words
which belong to the material form;
for the words of the speech of our earth
are forms of material things,
from which spiritual ideas are indeed arrived at,
but which are, all the while,
founded on material things;
from which things
if material conceptions be abstracted,
the idea perishes.
This is the case because
the inhabitants of our earth 
relate to the external senses.

AC 3665 - knowledges with young children

AC 3665 [2, 5]
When a person is being regenerated,
he is at first led by the Lord as an infant,
then as a child,
afterwards as a youth,
and at last as an adult.
The truths he learns as an infant child
are altogether external and corporeal,
for as yet he is unable to understand interior truths.
These truths are no other than knowledges
of such things as contain, in their inmost, things Divine . . ..

With regard to these very knowledges
of external or corporeal truth
which are from collateral good,
and which as before said
contain in them what is Divine,
and consequently are capable of admitting genuine goods
- such as are the knowledges with young children
who are afterwards regenerated -
they are in general such as are contained
in the historicals of the Word,
such as what is said there concerning paradise (Eden),
concerning the first man in it,
concerning the tree of life in its midst,
and concerning the tree of knowledge,
where was the serpent that practiced the deception.
These are the knowledges
that contain within them what is Divine,
and admit into them spiritual and celestial goods and truths,
because they represent and signify these goods and truths.
Such knowledges also are
all other things in the historicals of the Word,
as what is said concerning the tabernacle and the temple
and concerning the construction of these;
in like manner what is said concerning
the garments of Aaron and of his sons;
also concerning the feasts of tabernacles,
of the firstfruits of harvest, of unleavened bread,
and concerning other like things.

When such knowledges as these are known
and thought of by a young child,
the angels who are with him think of the Divine things
which they represent and signify;
and because the angels are affected with these,
their affection is communicated,
and causes the delight and pleasure
which the child experiences . . .
and prepares his mind to receive genuine truths and goods.

SD 4819 - the Lord

SD 4819
. . . the Lord rules each and every event,
and that He sees and foresees 
each and every event with a person,
even to the minutest details.

AC 3651 - "holy place"

AC 3651 [3]
Standing in the holy place;
(Matthew 24:15)
signifies devastation as to all things which are of good and truth;
the "holy place" is a state of love and faith;
the holy of this state is the good which is of love,
and the derivative truth which is of faith;
and nothing else than these is meant by "holy" in the Word,
because these things are from the Lord,
who is the Holy itself, 
or the Sanctuary.

SD 4792 - reception of the Lord

SD 4792
. . . the Lord is the Holy Itself;
and that it is not possible
for those who are of a filthy and profane life,
to receive the holy;
for that which receives the Lord,
is the Divine Itself,
or the holy of the Lord in a person . . ..

Like are adjoined to like.

AC 3624, 3634, 3645 - being in correspondence

AC 3624, 3634, 3645

. . . the universal heaven is so formed
as to correspond to the Lord, to His Divine Human;
and that a person is so formed
as to correspond to heaven
in regard to each and all things in him,
and through heaven to the Lord.
This is a great mystery which is now to be revealed . . ..

A person who is in correspondence,
that is, who is in love to the Lord
and in charity toward the neighbor,
and consequently in faith,
is as to his spirit in heaven,
and as to his body in the world;
and so because he acts as one with the angels,
he is also an image of heaven . . ..

The universal kingdom of the Lord
is a kingdom of ends and uses.
. . . Each and all things flow forth from this sphere,
and are directed by it.
Insofar as the affections, thoughts, and actions
have within them the end to do good from the heart,
so far the person, spirit, or angel 
is in the Grand Man, that is, in heaven;
but insofar as a person or spirit
has the end to do evil from the heart,
so far he is out of the Grand Man,
that is, is in hell.

AC 3623 - our lives

AC 3623
In respect to "lives,"
they signify in the plural
both what is of the will and what is of the understanding,
consequently what is of good and what is of truth;
for the life of a person is nothing else
than good and truth in which is life from the Lord,
inasmuch as a person,
without good and truth, and life in them, is not a person;
for a person without these
would not be able to will anything or think anything,
all his faculty of willing being
from what is good or what is not good,
and his faculty of thinking
from what is true or what is not true;
consequently a person has lives,
which are one life
when his thinking is from his willing, that is,
when the truth which is of faith
is from the good which is of love.

SD 4781 - why the Lord was born on this earth

SD 4781
There was a talk concerning the Lord,
why He was born in this earth and not in some other;
and [it was seen] that the reason was,
because, in this earth,
doctrine communicated from heaven,
could be propagated throughout the whole world,
and remain for thousands of years;
for, in this earth, from ancient times,
such things have been committed to writings,
and, afterward, to types,
and these can be spread throughout the whole world,
and also remain;
for such communications and travellings exist in this earth,
and not elsewhere . . ..
Besides, also,
when the heavenly doctrine concerning the Lord
is known in one earth,
the rest are thus able to know it,
when they become spirits and angels.

AC 3610 - real life

AC 3610
. . . in the love of self and the love of the world,
or in their pleasure and delight,
there is not life;
but [real life is] in celestial and spiritual love,
and in their delight and pleasure.

SD 4754 - truths of faith

SD 4754
... there was divine order,
and that the laws of order are the truths of faith;
that love to the Divine
and love towards the neighbor
constitute heaven,
and that love of the world
constitutes hell;
that divine order cannot be received save by the humble,
and that humility cannot exist with those who are in self-love;
that self-love is hard,
and love to the Divine is soft . . ..

AC 3603 - when we can know what doing good is

AC 3603
Even those who are being regenerated
do not know what good is
until they have been regenerated;
for before this they supposed that truth was good,
and that to do according to truth was good,
when yet that which they then do is not good, but truth.
When person is in this state,
he is in the state which is described by "Jacob"
and in the "blessing" given to him;
but when he comes into a state of doing good
from the affection of good
- that is, when he is regenerate -
he then comes into the state
which is described in the blessing given to Esau. 

SD 4732-4733 - golden & silver hearts and silver swords

SD 4732 - 4733
Good spirits [are such] as have not yet become angels,
but because they often come in contact with evil spirits,
who constantly attempt to produce evils.
The number of such [evil spirits] is very great;
and the evils which they produce are innumerable . . ..
Those who are good, and interiorly angels,
have given to them a breast-plate, which is, as it were,
a larger form of heart, made of gold.
When the evil, or robbers, meet them,
and they draw aside their garments and show the golden heart,
the robbers dare not do anything.
Those who confess the Lord, are given a breastplate of gold;
but beforehand, while as yet they acknowledge Three Persons,
their breast-plate is of silver.

And there is also given to them a sword with a silver hilt,
together with a belt.
When they carry that sword,
evil spirits dare do nothing.

AC 3596 - what we understand

AC 3596
What is implied by making its own
and joining to itself the truth represented by Jacob
may become clear from what has been stated already.
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 illustrate 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.
Moreover such things are to be built upon ideas of natural truths,
through which they are to be understood,
and at the present day these also are wanting.
This is the reason why the words just preceding
have been explained so briefly,
and merely as to the internal sense of the expressions.

AC 3573 - our faces and our regeneration

AC 3573
. . . the natural is not regenerated
until it has been conjoined with the rational.

. . . the rational mind
(that is, a person's interior will and understanding)
ought to represent itself in the natural mind
just as this mind
represents itself in the face and its expressions,
insomuch
that as the face is the countenance of the natural person,
so the natural mind should be
the countenance of the rational mind.
When the conjunction has been effected,
as is the case with those who have been regenerated,
then whatever a person interiorly wills
and thinks in his rational
presents itself conspicuously in his natural,
and this latter presents itself conspicuously in his face.
Such a face have the angels;
and such a face had the most ancient people
who were celestial people,
for they were not at all afraid
that others should know their ends and intentions,
inasmuch as they willed nothing but good;
for he who suffers himself to be led by the Lord
never intends or thinks anything else.
When the state is of this character,
then the rational as to good conjoins itself
immediately with the good of the natural,
and through this with its truths;
and also mediately through the truth
that is conjoined with itself in the rational
with the truth of the natural,
and through this with the good therein;
and in this way the conjunction becomes indissoluble.

. . . how far removed people are at this day from this state,
thus from the heavenly state,
may be seen from the fact
that it is believed to be of civil prudence
to speak, to act, and also to express by the countenance,
something else than what one thinks and intends,
and even to dispose the natural mind in such a manner
that together with its face
it may act contrary to the things which it interiorly
thinks and wills from an end of evil.
To the most ancient people
this was an enormous wickedness,
and such persons were cast out from their society as devils.

SD 4712 - how the case stands with faith in the Lord

SD 4712
To those who believe in the Lord,
according to the truths of faith,
the Lord is in presence, that is,
is present and has His abode with them.
But to those who do not believe,
 the Lord is absent,
because He cannot be seen by the thought,
nor recognized by the affection.
Concerning those, the Lord says
that He does not confess them
because they do not confess Him. 

AC 3570 - paying some attention to why we do what we do

AC 3570 [2,3,6]
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.
Consequently, 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.

Through his ends of life a person is in the other life;
through ends of good in heaven with the angels;
but through ends of evil in hell with devils.
The ends in a person are nothing else than his loves;
for that which a person loves he has for an end;
and inasmuch as his ends are his loves,
they are his inmost life.

. . . 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.

SD 4688 - interior good from the Lord

SD 4688
There were those who did not understand
that there should be such a thing as interior good,
and that it was better and more beautiful than exterior good.
They supposed that the exteriors were all.
. . . with the good, interiors are given,
which are from the Lord,
and consequently are more perfect by degrees;
and that the interiors with the evil
are more deformed and hideous.

AC 3550, 3556 - that kind of good from which truth is acquired prior to regeneration

AC 3550
. . . the truth which a person possesses prior to regeneration
is believed by him to be good itself.
People who have perception know that it is not good
but truth appearing under the form of good;
but those who do not have perception
are not aware of any such difference . . .

AC 3556
. . . good and truths from that good
are re-arranged into proper order in a person
while he is being regenerated.
That is to say, they are re-ordered
so that they appear outwardly,
or make themselves clear on the surface,
as though they were genuine good
and genuine truths from that good.
In actual fact they are not such
but . . . are home-born good and truths from this good,
which serve solely to aid a person's regeneration,
and so to bring in goods and truths of a grosser nature
because such are conducive to his regeneration.

SD 4662 - the arrogant and the humble

SD 4662
. . . the more anyone is in heart haughty towards others,
that is, in self-love,
the less is he in the faculty of growing wise,
so that they are removed from wisdom
according to the degree of their love;
and that wisdom from the Lord inflows
only with those who are humble,
who do not despise others in comparison with themselves,
who favor what is good,
and love good people from the heart. 

SD 4655 - we ought and we ought not

SD 4655
. . . we ought to think
that a thing ought not only to be done for the sake of the Lord,
but that it ought also to be willed,
and doing good for the sake of ourselves as an end,
ought to be held in aversion. 

AC 3540 - What makes a book of the genuine Word?

AC 3540 [4]
That the book of Job is a book of the Ancient Church
is evident as before said
from its representative and significative style;
but it is not of those books
which are called the Law and the Prophets,
because it has not an internal sense
which treats solely of the Lord and of His kingdom;
for this is the one thing
that makes a book of the genuine Word.

AC 3519 - innocence

AC 3519 [5, 6]
. . . all in heaven are protected by the Lord
through states of innocence . . ..

. . . Jehovah or the Lord cannot appear to anyone, 
not even to an angel,
unless the one He appears to 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.
On this account no one can come into heaven
unless he has somewhat of innocence . . ..

HH 341
. . . innocence is a willingness to be led by the Lord
and not by oneself.

SD 4618 - the soul; SD 4644-4645 - affections & communications

SD 4618
As respects the soul,
concerning which it is said that it lives after death,
it is no other than the person himself,
who lives in the body,
so is the purer part of the person,
which is conjoined with the body,
so that, by means of the body,
it may perform the functions it ought in the world.
From this the body lives.
This, after death, is called a spirit.
It likewise appears, then, entirely in a human form;
it has the senses,
which are, touch, smell, sight, and hearing,
much more exquisitely than in the world.
It has appetites, cravings, desires, affections, loves,
similar to those which [it had] in the world,
but in a less coarse state.
It then thinks, as in the world, but more clearly;
speaks with others, and is in society;
and, this being the case,
if [the spirit] does not reflect upon the fact
that he is in another life,
he knows no otherwise than that he is in the world . . ..
This is the soul of a person . . ..

SD 4644, 4645
The communication of heaven with a person is wonderful;
and, unless one is instructed by the Lord,
it can never be known, nor, if known, believed.

. . . the affection of truth and the will of good,
is heaven with a person.
When this is delightful and pleasant to a person,
then angels inflow and communicate to them [i.e. people]
the sphere of their pleasantness and delight,
and so produce [it in him].
 It is the communication of spheres which causes it;
and one sphere has communication with another,
according to similitude.
Similar is the case with the evil;
if evil spirits speak of things agreeable to the person,
they then have pleasantness and tranquillity;
but, if otherwise, they have disquiet and unpleasantness.

AC 3509 - such is the Word

AC 3509 [3]
. . .  it may be seen what arcana are contained
in the internal sense of the Word;
but still there are very few
which can be described to human understanding;
while those which transcend it,
and cannot be described,
are without limit;
for in proportion as the Word penetrates more deeply,
that is, more interiorly, into heaven,
the more innumerable and ineffable the arcana become,
not only to man, but also to the angels of the lower heaven;
and when it reaches the inmost heaven,
the angels there perceive that the arcana are infinite,
and are altogether incomprehensible to them,
because they are Divine.
Such is the Word.

SD 4629 - angels and monsters

SD 4629
The universal heaven in general,
and the Lord in particular,
inflows into every single angel
 - consequently his human form;
and, since he is in heaven,
he is in the most splendid and beautiful form . . ..

. . . the Human of the Lord is Divine;
. . . and as to His being the Lord,
He is Divine even as to the Human;
. . .The influx from Him is into every person;
for his interiors are formed according to the image of heaven,
his exteriors according to correspondence.
. . . So it is, now, that evil spirits and genii,
because they do not correspond,
appear in the light [lux] of heaven, as monsters . . ..

AC 3502 - to learn it has to taste good

AC 3502 [2]
The natural is not made new,
or does not receive life corresponding to the rational
- that is, it is not regenerated -
except by means of matters of doctrine
or knowledges of good and truth,
the celestial person being regenerated
by means primarily of knowledges of good,
the spiritual person
by means primarily of knowledges of truth.
Matters of doctrine or knowledges of good and truth
cannot be conveyed to the natural person,
nor thus be joined to it and made its own,
except through all delight and pleasantness
that are appropriate for it,
for they are instilled by the external way
or that of the senses.
Anything that does not enter in
by way of some delight or pleasantness
does not attach itself there and so does not remain.

SD 4613 - the Lord is the Protector

SD 4613
That the case is this -
that hell injects evils and falsities,
and they pervert goods and truths
and assail a person by a thousand modes and arts;
and that the Lord,
out of heaven,
through the angels,
averts, carries away, mitigates,
and checks those things, in an instant . . ..

AC 3492 - old age

AC 3492
. . . in the Word "old age" signifies
both the putting off of a former state,
and the putting on of a new one;
and this for the reason that old age is the last of age,
when corporeal things begin to be put off,
and with them the loves of the preceding age,
and thus when the interiors begin to be enlightened,
for these are enlightened when corporeal things are removed;
and also because the angels,
who perceive in a spiritual manner
the things that are in the Word,
have no longer any idea of any old age,
but instead of it an idea of new life . . ..

AC 3490 - a summary: Isaac & Rebekah, Jacob & Esau

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 man.
And therefore in the representative sense
the regeneration of man 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.

SD 4577 - where the angels are

SD 4577
But where the angels are,
are the most magnificent palaces,
such as cannot be described,
and such as the best architect
would never believe possible to be produced.
They are resplendent with precious wood and stones;
and [the angels] live in the most splendid auras,
whereof [I have spoken] already. 

AC 3472 & AC 4376 - why we don't always understand, and yet . . .

AC 3472
That the things in the literal sense of the Word
are each and all representative
of the spiritual and celestial things
of the Lord's kingdom in the heavens,
and in the supreme sense
are representative of the Lord Himself,
may be seen from what has been thus far shown,
and from what of the Lord's Divine mercy is still to be shown.
But as man has removed himself so far from heaven,
and has immersed himself in lowest nature,
and even in what is earthly,
it is altogether repugnant to him
to hear that the Word contains deeper things
than he understands from the letter;
and this is still more the case when it is said
that it contains things incomprehensible,
which are adapted solely to the wisdom of angels;
and this is even still more so when it is said
that it contains Divine things themselves,
which infinitely transcend the understanding of angels.

AC 3476
. . . 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 3483 - the visible universe

AC 3483
. . . the visible universe is nothing else than a theater
representative of the Lord's kingdom;
and that this kingdom is a theater
representative of the Lord Himself.

SD 4562 - misfortune

SD 4562
. . . all things, and the least parts of all things,
are directed by Divine Providence,
even as to the slightest step and slightest nod;
and that when such a state prevails
as is contrary to the influx from the Divine,
misfortune happens.
But [real] misfortune is such
as concerns a person's eternal happiness and felicity,
and not that which concerns such things as are in the world;
for these appear to a person as happy
when yet they are hurtful. 

AC 3469, 3470 - the rational is regenerated before the natural

AC 3469 [2]
. . . 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 . . . 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.

AC 3470 [3]
. . . natural good is such that of itself
it is not willing to obey and serve rational good
as a servant serves its master,
but desires to command.
But in order that it may be reduced to a state
of compliance and service,
it is harassed by states of vastation and temptation
until its evil desires decline;
and then by the influx of the good of faith and of charity
through the internal person from the Lord,
the natural is tempered,
until the good received through heredity
is by degrees rooted out,
and a new good is implanted in its place,
into which good the truths of faith are then insinuated,
which are like new fibers inserted into the heart of person,
through which fibers new juice is introduced,
until a new heart has by degrees grown there.

AC 3464 - correspondence & the angels or spirits with us

AC 3464
. . . all matters of doctrine
drawn from the literal sense of the Word
include interior truths within them.
For the literal sense of the Word 
is like a well with water in it,
in that every single thing in the Word
holds within itself the internal sense,
which resides also in matters of doctrine
drawn from the Word.

[2] The situation with matters of doctrine
drawn from the literal sense of the Word
is that when anyone possesses them
and at the same time lives according to them
a correspondence exists within himself.
For the angels who reside with him
are alive to the interior truths 
when he is alive to the exterior;
and in this way he has communication with heaven
by means of matters of doctrine,
though this is conditioned by how good a life he leads.
For example, when at the Holy Supper
this person in simplicity
thinks about the Lord from the words
'This is My body' and 'This is My blood'
the angels residing with him
have in mind
love to the Lord and charity towards the neighbor;
for love to the Lord
corresponds to the Lord's body and to the bread,
while charity towards the neighbor
corresponds to His blood and to the wine.
This being the nature of the correspondence,
there flows from heaven
by way of the angels
into that holiness present with the person at that time
an affection which he receives
according to the good within his life.

[3] Actually angels dwell with every person
in the affection that belongs to his life,
and so in the affection for the matters of doctrine
according to which he lives,
but never in the matters of doctrine
with which his life is at variance.
If his life is at variance with them,
as it is if his affection is to gain position and wealth
for himself by means of matters of doctrine,
the angels in that case depart
and spirits from hell dwell in that affection.

AC 3454 - to do violence to the internal sense of the Word

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,
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.

AC 3438 - looking in the dark or looking in the light

AC 3438 [2-3]
And Jehovah appeared to him in that night, and said.
(Genesis 26:24)
Relatively to the literal sense,
the internal sense is like the interior
or celestial and spiritual things of a person
relatively to his exterior or natural and bodily things,
his interiors being in the light of heaven,
and his exteriors in the light of the world.
What the difference is
between the light of heaven and the light of the world . . .
is like the difference
between the light of day and the shade of night.  
A person, being in this shade,
and not being willing to know
that in truth from the Lord there is light,
cannot believe otherwise than that his shade is light,
and also on the other hand
that the light is shade;
for he is like a bird of night,
which as it flies in the shade of night thinks that it is in the light
but when in the light of day, that it is in the shade.
For with such a person the internal eye
(that is, the understanding), by which a person sees interiorly,
has been formed no differently than this,
because he has not formed it differently;
for he opens it when he looks downward,
that is, to worldly and bodily things,
and shuts it when he should look upward,
that is, to spiritual and heavenly things.
With such persons the case is the same in respect to the Word
- that which appears in its literal sense
they believe to be of light;
but that which appears in the internal sense
they believe to be of shade
(for the Word appears to everyone in accordance with his quality) . . ..

In the internal sense there are singulars,
myriads of which together make one particular
that is presented in the literal sense;
or what is the same,
in the internal sense there are particulars,
myriads of which together make in the literal sense one general;
and it is this general that is seen by a person,
but not the particulars which are in it and which constitute it.
Nevertheless the order of the particulars in the general
is apparent to a person,
but in accordance with his quality;
and this order is the holiness that affects him.
 

AC 3424 & 3436 - a well of living water

A Well of Living Water
AC 3424 [2]
That the Word of the Lord is such
that it gives life to him that thirsts,
that is, to him that desires life . . ..
That the Word is living and therefore gives life,
is because in its supreme sense the Lord is treated of,
and in the inmost sense His kingdom,
in which the Lord is all;
and this being the case,
there is in the Word life itself,
which flows into the minds of those
who read the Word with reverence . . ..

AC 3436
The doctrine of faith . . . is the very literal sense of the Word,
for the Word is doctrine itself;
and although the Word
as to the literal sense
is such that truths may be drawn from it,
it is also such that things not true
may be confirmed from it,
as is well known from the existence of heresies.
But 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.

[2] Moreover the person who is in simple good,
and in simplicity believes the Word
according to its literal sense,
when instructed in the other life by angels
is gifted with the faculty of perceiving truths;
and in the meantime the few truths he has
are made alive by charity and innocence . . ..

AC 3419 - the Word is a holy writing

AC 3419 [2-3]
. . . when angelic speech
(which is incomprehensible to a person
because spiritual and celestial)
descends to a person, who is in a natural sphere,
it falls into representatives and significatives
such as are in the Word,
and so it is that the Word is a holy writing;
for in order to be a full correspondence
that which is Divine cannot be presented in any other way
before the natural person.

And as the ancients were in
representatives and significatives 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 so 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 . . ..

AC 3417 - a single angel

AC 3417 [3]
. . . 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 the proportion that he believes
that he has no power from himself,
thus that he is the least;
and this he can believe only so far as he is in humiliation
and in the affection of being of service to others,
that is, only so far as he is in the good of love to the Lord,
and of charity toward the neighbor.

AC 3404 -the vision of Infinity & Eternity and that of angels and people

AC 3404 [2]
It is known that the Divine is infinite as to being,
and eternal as to manifestation,
and that the finite is not capable of comprehending the infinite,
nor indeed the eternal,
for the eternal is the infinite as to manifestation;
and as the Divine Itself is infinite and eternal,
all things which are from the Divine are also infinite and eternal,
and being infinite cannot possibly be comprehended by angels,
because these are finite.
For this reason the things which are infinite and eternal
are presented before the angels in appearances which are finite;
but still in such appearances as are very far above
the sphere of a person's comprehension.
For example,
a person cannot possibly have any idea of the eternal
except from time;
and this being the case,
he cannot possibly comprehend what is from eternity,
thus what the Divine was before time,
or before the world was created.
And so long as there is in his thought anything of an idea from time,
if he thinks on the subject
he must necessarily fall into errors
from which he cannot be extricated.
But to the angels, who are not in the idea of time,
but in the idea of state,
it is given to perceive this most clearly,
for the eternal with them is not the eternal of time,
but the eternal of state,
without the idea of time.

AC 3402 - the Lord protects against profanation

AC 3402 [2-3]
. . . 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 . . ..

The removal of good and truth,
consequently of the angels,
from the person who is in evil and falsity
is not apparent to him,
because he is then in the persuasion that evil is good,
and that falsity is truth,
and this from the affection of them and the consequent delight;
and when he is in this state
it is impossible for him to know
that good and truth have been removed from 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 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 3392 - Isaac, laughing, Rebekah,& Abimelech

AC 3392
And behold Isaac was laughing with Rebekah his woman.
(Genesis 26:8)
That this signifies that Divine good was present in Divine truth,
or that Divine good was adjoined to Divine truth,
is evident from the representation of Isaac,
as being the Divine good of the Lord's rational;
from the signification of "laughing,"
as being the love or affection of truth;
and from the representation of Rebekah,
as being the Divine truth of the Lord's rational.
Consequently it is evident
that "Isaac laughing with Rebekah his woman"
signifies that Divine good was present with Divine truth.
The sense of the words in the series is that at first
spiritual truth is received for the reason that it is called Divine;
and afterwards because the Divine is in it,
 which is clearly seen by those who are being regenerated
and are becoming people of the spiritual church.
These are they who are meant by "Abimelech;"
that is, who are in the doctrine of faith,
and look to truths in knowledges.

AC 3379 - what makes a church?

AC 3379
. . . churches are not churches because they are so called,
and because they profess the Lord's name;
but because they are in the good and truth of faith.
The good and truth of faith is that which constitutes the church,
indeed, which is the church,
for in the good and truth of faith is the Lord,
and where the Lord is, there is the church.

SD 4773m - heavenly joy consists of an active life of usefulness

SD 4773m  
. . . people at this day, do not know what heavenly joy is,
. . . but that they suppose it to consist in this,
that they should be cared for by angels and spirits,
and should thus breathe joy in idleness; and this to eternity.
That this is false, was shown them by the fact,
that there are no spirits and angels who have not been people:
Secondly, that in heaven,
it is not permitted to be served by others,
but to serve others;
and that mere joy in idleness,
vanishes away in a few hours or days, since it is without life.
Idleness at length wearies everyone . . ..
But . . . heavenly joy consists in an active life, thus in use;
and that according to the use they possess joy,
so that use is the subject of joy . . ..

Concerning the uses which angels perform,
and by virtue of which they perceive joy,
it was also said, that these are very numerous,
and more remarkable than a person ever believes.
Glorifying the Lord is not a use, but a recreation;
for [angels] glorify the Lord in every use.
This the Lord loves.
Their uses, also, are
(1) to be with people, to insinuate there goods and truths,
     and to turn aside evils and falsities.
(2) To instruct spirits who come from the world.
(3) To instruct infants.
(4) To awaken the dead,
      and to lead and inform those who are awakened.
(5) To watch over these, and, moreover,
      to attend to domestic duties there . . .
      besides other things innumerable.
In these things the angels take such joy as is indescribable:
for these things relate to mutual love,
or charity towards the neighbor.

AC 3365 - why there are appearances of truth

AC 3365
. . .the rational is such that it cannot possibly understand Divine things,
for it is finite,
and the finite cannot understand what is of the infinite;
and consequently truths Divine from the Lord
are presented before the rational by means of appearances.
So it is that doctrinal things are nothing but appearances of truth Divine,
that is, nothing but celestial and spiritual vessels,
within which is what is Divine;
and because the Divine,
that is, the Lord,
is in them, 
they affect us,
from which comes the conjunction of the Lord with angels and people.

SD 4754m - conjugial love; SD 4771m - grating teeth

SD 4754m
. . . conjugial love is the holiest of all things . . .


SD 4771m
. . . those who have impressed themselves with natural falsities,
and have confirmed themselves in them,
and drawn from them many inferences,
and who from those things
reason about spiritual things in the other life:
for there is not any correspondence
[between these natural falsities and spiritual truths]
but, they clash:
hence the grating of the teeth.) 

AC 3336 - priority and superiority and our regeneration

AC 3336 [2-3]
It is easy to see that nothing can possibly enter
into a person's memory and remain there,
unless there is a certain affection or love which introduces it.
If there is no affection, or what is the same, no love,
there will be no observation.
It is this affection, or love,
with which the thing that enters connects itself,
and being connected remains;
as is evident from the fact that
when a similar affection or love returns,
the thing itself recurs . . . and this in a series.
From this comes a person's thought;
and from this thought his speech.
. . . This is the teaching of experience,
and on reflection everyone may be confirmed in it.

The doctrinal things of truth enter in like manner into the memory;
and the things that at first introduce them
are affections of various loves . . ..
Genuine affection, which is of the good of charity,
is not then observed; but still it is present;
and so far as it can be present,
it is joined together by the Lord to the doctrinal things of truth . . ..
When therefore the time comes that the person can be regenerated,
the Lord inspires the affection of good,
and through this excites the things
which have been joined together by Him to this affection,
which things are called in the Word "remains;"
and then by means of this affection
(that is, of the affection of good),
by successive steps the Lord removes the affections of other loves,
consequently also the things that have been connected with them.
And thus the affection of good, 
or what is the same, the good of life,
begins to have the dominion.
It indeed had the dominion before,
but this could not appear to the person;
for insofar as a person is in the love of self and of the world,
the good which is of genuine love does not appear.
From this it may now be seen
what is signified in the internal sense by the things historically
related concerning Esau and Jacob.

SD 4745m - knowing; SD 4749m - living

SD 4745m
It is they who are in good
that are enlightened by the Lord.
With the culture of the present day . . .
that people believe a person to be cultured and learned,
provided they know many things,
and still more when they have, of themselves,
devised several means to confirm them:
and yet this is not to be learned, that is, enlightened,
for even falsities can equally be confirmed;
and, from confirmation,
one may be persuaded that the thing is so. 

AS 4749m
. . . truths of doctrine . . .
teach what sort of life a person ought to lead;
if they are not for the sake of that end
they profit nothing.

. . . so far as willing good and thinking good
is in the doing of good,
so far is there life in the externals;
and he who wills good and thinks good, does good;
for life cannot exist without an effect:
however, he who does not will good and think good
but yet does good,
is a hypocrite.

AC 3325 - the firstborn - good or truth?

AC 3325 [3,4,5,9]
. . . within the church there are more
not being regenerated than being regenerated;
and as they who are not being regenerated
draw conclusions from the appearance,
therefore there has been a dispute
even from ancient times
as to whether the priority belongs to truth or to good.
With those who have not been regenerated,
and also with those who have not been fully regenerated,
the opinion has prevailed that truth is prior,
for as yet they have no perception of good;
and so long as anyone has no perception of good,
he is in shade or in ignorance in relation to these things.
But they who have been regenerated, being in good itself,
are able from the consequent intelligence and wisdom
to observe what good is,
and that it is from the Lord,
and that it flows in through the internal person into the external,
and this continually,
the person being altogether unconscious of it;
and that it joins itself to the truths of doctrinal things
that are in the memory;
consequently that in itself good is prior,
although before it had not appeared so.

. . . good is the firstborn
(that is, the good of love to the Lord,
and of love toward the neighbor,
for there is no other good than that which is good from these loves)
. . . all are called "firstborn" who are in love to the Lord
and in charity toward the neighbor,
and these were also represented in the Jewish Church by
what is firstborn, that is,
they are meant by it in the relative sense,
because the Lord is the Firstborn,
and all that are firstborn are His likenesses and images.

That the Lord as to the Divine Human is the Firstborn,

From Jesus Christ who is the faithful witness,
the Firstborn of the dead,
and the prince of the kings of the earth.
(Rev. 1:5)

In order that all that had been written
and represented concerning Him might be fulfilled,
He was likewise by birth the firstborn.

Inasmuch as the firstborn represented the Lord,
and those who are the Lord's by virtue of love to Him,
therefore the tribe of Levi was accepted instead of every firstborn,
and this because Levi represented the Lord as to love.
"Levi" also signifies love,
for "Levi" is "adhesion" and "conjunction,"
and in the internal sense adhesion and conjunction are love.

AC 3321 - thinking from the natural

AC 3321
A person's rational receives truths before his natural;
and this to the end
that the Lord's life, which as before said is of love,
may flow in through the rational into the natural,
and dispose the natural, and reduce it to obedience.
For the rational is purer, and the natural grosser;
or what is the same,
the rational is interior and the natural exterior;
and . . . it is according to order
that the interior or purer can flow into the exterior or grosser,
but not the reverse.

So it is that a person's rational
can be accommodated to truths and receive them
before his natural . . ..
For as is also known,
the internal person can see truths and also will them,
but the external refuses assent and resists;
for in the natural person there are memory-knowledges
which are in a great measure
derived from the fallacies of the senses,
and which notwithstanding their being false
the person believes to be true;
there are also things without number
which the natural person does not understand;
for he is relatively in shade and thick darkness,
and that which he does not understand,
he believes either not to exist, or not to be so;
there are likewise evil loves
which are of the love of self and of the world,
and all things that favor these he calls truths;
and when the person yields to these the dominion,
all things that result are contrary to spiritual truths.
There are also in the natural person reasonings
that are grounded in falsities impressed from infancy.
. . . This also causes him to believe the body to be everything;
and all that does not fall into the natural sense,
he scarcely believes to be anything.  

SD 4721m - resisting, only a little, helps; SD 4726m - can't sleep?

SD 4721m
. . . when a person resists,
or fights against evil and falsity only a little,
he can be in a state opposite to them,
and in delight and pleasantness.
So, only the discernment of resistance,
or its admission,
is sometimes sufficient . . .

SD 4726m
. . . thought belongs to wakefulness,
and produces wakefulness.

AC 3318 - "And he was weary." (Genesis 25:29)

AC 3318
That "weary" here signifies a state of combat . . .
 
. . . A person is nothing but an organ, or vessel,
which receives life from the Lord . . ..
The life which inflows with a person from the Lord
is from His Divine love.
This love, or the life . . . inflows and applies itself
to the vessels (truths) which are in a person's rational,
and to those which are in his natural.
In consequence of the hereditary evil
into which a person is born,
and of the actual evil which he acquires,
these vessels are in a contrary position within him
relative to the inflowing life (from the Lord),
yet so far as the life which flows in
can dispose the vessels to receive it,
it does so dispose them.
These vessels in the rational person, and in the natural,
are what are called truths . . ..
Good itself, which has life from the Lord,
or which is life,
is that which flows in and disposes. 

. . . This cannot possibly be effected
so long as the person is in that state into which he is born,
and to which he has reduced himself;
for the vessels are not obedient,
being obstinately resistant, and hardening themselves
against the heavenly order according to which the life acts;
for the good which moves them, and with which they comply,
is of the love of self and of the world
. . . and therefore before they can be rendered compliant
and fit to receive anything of the life of the Lord's love,
they must be softened.
This softening is effected by no other means than temptations;
for temptations remove all that is of the love of self
and of contempt for others in comparison with self,
consequently all that is of self-glory,
and also of hatred and revenge on this account.
When therefore the vessels have been
somewhat tempered and subdued by temptations,
they begin to become yielding to, and compliant with,
the life of the Lord's love,
which continually flows in with a person.

. . . it is then that good begins to be conjoined with truths;
first in the rational person, and afterwards in the natural . . ..
This is the reason why a person is regenerated,
that is, made new, by temptations;
or what is the same, by spiritual combats;
and that he is afterwards gifted with another nature;
being made mild, humble, simple, and contrite in heart.
From these considerations
it may now be seen what use temptations promote,
namely, that good from the Lord may not only flow in,
but may also dispose the vessels to obedience,
and thus conjoin itself with them.
. . .  the first of conjunction takes place
by means of combats,
which are those of temptations,
it is evident that by "he was weary" is signified a state of combat. 

But as regards the Lord,
who in the supreme sense is here treated of,
He by the most grievous temptation combats
reduced all things in Himself into Divine order,
insomuch that there remained nothing at all of the human
which He had derived from the mother,
so that He was not made new as are other people,
but altogether Divine.
For the person who is made new by regeneration
still retains in himself an inclination to evil,
and even evil itself;
but is withheld from evil by an influx of the life of the Lord's love,
and this with a force exceeding great;
whereas the Lord utterly cast out
all the evil that was hereditary to Him from the mother,
and made Himself Divine,
even as to the vessels, that is, as to truths.
This is that which in the Word is called "glorification."

SD 4702 m - resusitation of the dead

SD 4702m
Two or three times I was let into a place
where there is a resurrection of the dead
- really what is called place is state -
where there were celestials.
This [that celestials are present] is known from the fact,
that when the Lord and celestial angels are present,
that something aromatic is perceived from corpses.
And it was stated, that the Lord is there specially present,
wherefore also celestial angels are there;
because, without such presence of the Lord,
there would be no resuscitation of the dead.

AC 3310 - the good of life from doctrinal things

AC 3310 [3]
Those who are being regenerated,
at first do what is good from doctrinal things,
for of themselves they do not know what is good,
but learn it from the doctrinal things of love and charity;
from these they know who the Lord is;
who is the neighbor;
what love is, and what charity;
thus what good is.
. . . one who by nature inclines to adulteries, thefts, and murders,
but who learns from the commandments of the Decalogue
that such things are of hell,
and so abstains from them.
In this state he is affected by the commandments
because he is afraid of hell,
and from these and likewise from many things in the Word
he learns how he ought to direct his life;
and in this case when he does what is good,
he does it from the commandments.
But when he is in good,
he begins to be averse to the adulteries, thefts, and murders
to which before he had been inclined;
and when he is in this state,
he no longer does what is good from the commandments,
but from good, which then is in him.
In the former state he learns good from truth;
in the latter state he teaches truth from good.

SD 4668m - the Divine sphere of ends and uses

SD 4668m
I clearly perceived the Divine sphere of ends and uses,
and more things than are possible to say.
. . .  from that sphere, flow, and are ruled,
all things, and every single detail,
which were of thought and speech . . .

AC 3305 - "And he called his name Jacob" (Genesis 25:26)

AC 3305 [2]
Those who confine themselves to the sense of the letter
suppose that in the Word Jacob is used to mean
every one of those people descended from Jacob,
and for that reason they apply to those people everything
that has been stated about Jacob either as history or as prophecy.
But the Word is Divine
in that first and foremost every single thing within it
has regard not just to one particular nation or people
but to the whole human race,
namely to everyone present, past, and future.
More than that, it has reference to the Lord's kingdom in heaven;
and in the highest sense to the Lord Himself.
This is what makes it a Divine Word.
If it were concerned with merely one particular nation
it would be human only
and would have nothing more of the Divine within it
than the existence among that nation of holy worship. 

SD 4668m - the Divine sphere of ends & uses

SD 4668m
I clearly perceived the Divine sphere of ends and uses,
and more things than are possible to say.
. . .  from that sphere, flow, and are ruled,
all things, and every single detail,
which were of thought and speech . . .

AC 3299 - "twins being in her womb" (Genesis 25:24)

AC 3299

It is good which gives life, but through truth.
Both these are called soul,
but still good is principally the soul,
while truth clothes it as with a kind of tender vessel or body,
so that the good is in the truth.
This is what is signified by "twins being in her womb."

Judges end of 2-3; SD 4630m, 4652m - misfortunes

Judges 2:19-23, 3:1-2
But when the judge died, the people returned to ways
even more corrupt than those of their fathers,
following other gods and serving and worshiping them. 
They refused to give up their evil practices and stubborn ways.
Therefore the LORD was very angry with Israel and said,
"Because this nation has violated the covenant
that I laid down for their forefathers and has not listened to me,
I will no longer drive out before them
any of the nations Joshua left when he died.
I will use them to test Israel and see
whether they will keep the way of the LORD
and walk in it as their forefathers did.
The LORD had allowed those nations to remain;
He did not drive them out at once
by giving them into the hands of Joshua.
These are the nations the LORD left to test all those Israelites
who had not experienced any of the wars in Canaan
(He did this only to teach warfare to the descendants of
the Israelites who had not had previous battle experience) . . .

SD 4630m
. . .  the misfortunes of the faithful, which, it is well-known,
they suffer as much as, and even more than, the unfaithful.
The reason was told why some of them are thus let into trials:
some, for the reason that they may not attribute good to themselves;
for, if they were exempted [from trials],
then would they attribute it to their own goodness, consequently,
they would unjustifiably claim to themselves merit and justice.
In case this should happen, they are let into common misfortunes,
so that they come to grief as far as life riches
and possessions are concerned, equally with others.
If, however, they were of such a character
that they would not consequently attribute good to themselves,
they would more often be exempted from ordinary misfortune.
So, there are hidden causes at work:
for it is known, that, when misfortune arrives,
any of the faithful think about good,
and in such sort that they consider they should be spared
on account of the good they have done;
and if then, they were to be spared,
they would boast it was on account of their being good,
and, so, would taunt the wicked with this;
consequently, would unjustifiably claim good to themselves.) 

SD 4652m
Consequently it may be evident,
that a person is lead of the Lord
by continuous constraints to foreseen ends;
and yet, by means of his freedom.

SD 3286 - the work of regeneration

SD 3286 [3]
The work of regeneration
is chiefly concerned in bringing about the correspondence
of the natural person to the rational person,
not only in general, but also in particular;
and the natural person is reduced to correspondence
by the Lord through the rational,
in that good is insinuated into the rational,
and in this good
as in ground
truths are implanted,
and then by means of rational truths
the natural is reduced to obedience;
and when it obeys,
then it corresponds;
and insofar as it corresponds,
so far is the person regenerate.

AC 3267 - the spiritual church

AC 3267 [2-3]
With the Lord's spiritual church the case is this:
It is scattered throughout the whole world,
and everywhere varies as to articles of belief, or the truths of faith;
and these varieties are the derivations which are signified by the "births,"
and which come forth both at one and the same time
and also one after another.
It is the very same with the Lord's spiritual kingdom in the heavens,
in which there is variety as to the things of faith,
and this to such a degree that there is not one society,
nor even one person in a society,
that in the things of the truth of faith
has an idea altogether in agreement with the ideas of others
but nevertheless the Lord's spiritual kingdom in the heavens is a one;
the reason of which is that with all there
charity is the principal thing;
for charity makes the spiritual church,
and not faith, unless you call charity faith.

He who is in charity loves his neighbor,
and when the neighbor differs from him in matters of belief,
he excuses it provided that his neighbor lives in good and truth.
He also does not condemn the well-disposed Gentiles,
although they are ignorant of the Lord,
and do not know anything of the faith.
For he who is in charity, that is, who lives in good,
receives from the Lord truths of such a quality as agree with his good,
and Gentiles receive such truths as in the other life
that may be bent into truths of faith.
But he who is not in charity, that is, who does not live in good,
can never receive any truth; he may indeed know truth,
but it is not implanted in his life;
thus he may indeed have it in his mouth, but not in his heart.
For truth cannot be conjoined with evil,
and therefore those who know the truths
 which are called the articles of belief,
and do not live in charity or in good,
although they are in the church because born in it,
are yet not of the church,
for there is nothing of the church in them,
that is nothing of good with which truth may be conjoined.

SDm 4599 - life

SDm 4599
There were some who had general affection,
and, since there was not in it anything of detail,
they took away the life of the body . . .
or induced lassitude of mind,
with lassitude of the body . . .
and a certain indigestion in the stomach;
for the reason that there is little vitality in such general affection.
Life itself consists in the intelligence and wisdom of truth;
and, if this is absent,
there is little vitality, or there is lassitude. 

SDm 4547 - Conscience, and can we know we are in charity?

SDm 4547 (Spiritual Diary Minor)
Conscience is not given without charity towards the neighbor.
A person is in so obscure a perception and idea,
that be is unable to know whether he has charity,
because he is not much sensible of affection;
nor, if he has it, does he reflect upon it;
but it is known from his zeal towards good and truth,
and towards justice and right.
He then has charity, if he is in zeal,
namely, in the zeal of punishing the evil
for the end that they may become good
and that the good may not be hurt,
and that the community or public might be freed from such;
for then he has charity,
although it does not so appear;
nor is he himself able to know this.

AC - various bits and pieces: pun?, charity, death of Abraham, our loves, our souls

AC 3245
. . . (concerning which see above) . . .
[Comment: 
How many times in the Heavenly Doctrines does the
Lord give us this direction?  Many!! 
So - for those of you who love a play on words -
is this simply a physical instruction or a spiritual one?]

AC 3249
. . . charity toward the neighbor is nothing else
than a life according to the Lord's commandments.

AC 3253
And Abraham expired and died.
(Genesis 25:8)
That this signifies the end of the representation by Abraham,
is evident from the signification of "expiring and dying,"
as being to cease or come to an end;
here, the end of the representation.
For nothing of Abraham's life which is described in the Word
has reference to Abraham, except merely in the historical sense;
but everything has reference to the Lord and His kingdom;
and therefore when it is said of Abraham
that he "expired and died,"
it cannot signify in the Word (that is, in its genuine sense)
anything else than that
the state representative of the Lord by Abraham came to an end.

AC 3255
. . . all who are in the same good
meet and are together in the other life,
and likewise all who are in the same truth.

[2]  . . . while a person lives in the body
he is always
as to his soul
in some society of spirits in the other life.;
the person who is evil is in a society of infernal spirits;
and the person who is good is in a society of angels.
Thus everyone is in a society of such spirits as he is in agreement with,
either as to good and truth,
or as to evil and falsity;
and into this same society the person comes when he dies.

AC 3236 - What is spiritual good and the spiritual truth attached to this good?

AC 3236 [2]
Spiritual good in a person
is in general what is called the good of faith,
and this is no other than charity toward the neighbor;
but in order that it may be charity,
it must come from the new will
with which the spiritual person is gifted by the Lord.
The spiritual truth adjoined to this good
is what is called the truth of faith,
and this is no other than that which regards charity first
as the end for the sake of which it exists;
and afterwards
as the beginning from which it proceeds;
but in order that it may be the truth of faith to the spiritual person,
or faith,
it must come from the new understanding
with which he is gifted by the Lord;
and the new understanding
must have its light from the new will.

SD 4533 - the universal affirmative; SD 4534 - the doubting negative

SD 4533
It is solely a universal affirmative
with which a person is imbued as to truths by the Lord,
as that the Word is the Word,
that the Lord is the Lord,
that Providence is in the most singular things.
When one is in this principle,
although he is but obscurely aware of its existence,
innumerable affirmatives are insinuated by the Lord.

SD 4534
The contrary is the case with those who are in contrary affirmatives,
or those of the false, that is,
in the principles and persuasions of the false,
or in a doubting negative,
still more those who are positively in the negative respecting truths.

AC 3214 - angelic communications

AC 3214
Representatives of things spiritual and celestial
sometimes come forth in a long series . . .
in such an order successively as is marvelous.
. . . They are very delightful,
for something new and unexpected continually follows in succession,
and this until what is represented is being fully perfected;
and when all things have been perfectly represented,
it is possible to contemplate everything in one view;
and then it is at the same time given to take note 
of what is signified by each detail.
Moreover good spirits are in this way
initiated into spiritual and celestial ideas.

SD 4471 - the Lord really is watching

SD 4471
Evil souls or evil spirits return at first into their own life,
and afterwards, in the world of spirits,
exercise their wickedness according to their various dispositions;
and when they then exceed the delight of their life they are punished,
and this frequently, until they are deterred -
which punishment may take place to the number of twenty, fifty,
an hundred, or two hundred times and more.
Still, however, it is provided by the Lord
that they shall not do evil to the good,
and those evils which they attempt to inflict
are turned by the Lord into good;
these are the temptations by which the good are fortified.

SD 4442 - an angelic idea of the Divine, the Human, and the Holy of the Lord

SD 4442
There were . . .certain angelic spirits who were in a sublime idea
because they thought, perceived, and heard
so many things concerning
the Divine, the Human, and the Holy of the Lord.
. . . a sublime idea that those three were one,
which idea cannot be described
because it is possible only in the other life,
and words will not express it.
The Divine was for the celestial,
the Human for the rest who were beneath
 - though the Divine was also applicable to the latter -
while the Holy [of the Lord] was all the sphere proceeding,
because there is nothing in the Lord but the Divine Holy.
These things were represented by an angelic idea,
and this as a One adapted to the whole heaven,
in which idea they had their blessedness. 

AC 3212 - being made new

AC 3212 [3-4]
When a person is being regenerated,
he is then becoming altogether another, and is being made new;
therefore also when he has been regenerated,
he is called "born again," and "created anew."
Then, although he has a similar face and a similar speech,
yet his mind is not similar;
his mind, when he is regenerate, is open toward heaven,
and there dwells within love to the Lord and charity toward his neighbor,
together with faith.
It is the mind that makes a person another, and a new person.
This change of state cannot be perceived in the body of a person,
but in his spirit,
the body being merely the covering of his spirit;
and when it is put off, then his spirit appears,
and this (provided he has been regenerated) in altogether another form,
for it then has the form of love and charity in beauty inexpressible . . ..

From this image it may in some measure be conceived
what the glorification of the Lord is.
He was not regenerated as a person is;
but became Divine,
and this from the very Divine Love itself,
for He was made the Divine Love itself.
What His form then was,
was made apparent to Peter, James, and John
when it was given them to see Him,
not with the eyes of the body but with the eyes of the spirit,
namely - that His countenance shone like the sun (Matt. 17:2);
and that this was His Divine Human
is evident from the voice which then came out of the cloud, saying,
"This is my beloved Son" (verse 5).

AC 3195 - "light"

AC 3195 [2-3]
In the Word frequent mention is made of "light,"
and by this in the internal sense
is signified the truth which is from good
but in the supreme internal sense
there is signified the Lord Himself,
because He is good and truth itself.
. . . there actually is light in heaven,
but infinitely brighter than the light on earth;
and in this light spirits and angels see one another,
and by means of it is displayed all the glory which is in heaven.
In regard to its lucidity,
this light does indeed appear like the light in the world;
but still it is not like it, for it is not natural,
but spiritual, having in it wisdom;
so that it is nothing else than wisdom
which so shines before the eyes of the angels;
and therefore the wiser the angels are,
the brighter is the light in which they are.
. . .  this light illumines the understanding of a person,
especially that of a regenerate person;
but it is not perceived by a person
so long as he is in the life of the body . . ..

As regards the very origin of light,
this has been from eternity from the Lord alone;
for Divine good itself and Divine truth,
from which light comes, is the Lord.
The Divine Human, which was from eternity, was this light itself.
And whereas this light could no longer affect the human race,
which had removed itself so far from good and truth,
thus from light,
and had cast itself into darkness,
therefore the Lord willed to put on by birth the human itself;
for so He could illumine not only the rational
but also the natural things of a person;
for He made both the rational and the natural in Himself Divine,
in order that He might also be a light
to those who were in such gross darkness. 

SD 4433 - the common good

SD 4433
. . . he who, in the life of the body, is for the common good,
is also for the common good in the other life;
the common good in the other life is the kingdom of the Lord;
and he is thus for the kingdom of the Lord,
consequently for the Lord himself,
who is the all in all things of His kingdom.
Consequently,
how much zeal anyone has in the world for the common good,
so much he has for the kingdom of the Lord. 

AC 3190 - night and day

AC 3190
. . . when truth is elevated out of the natural into the rational,
it is taken out of the sphere of worldly light into the sphere of heavenly light,
thus as it were from the obscurity of night into the clearness of day;
for the things which are of the light of the world,
in which are all natural things,
are relatively as in night,
but the things which are of the light of heaven,
in which are spiritual things,
are relatively as in day;
and therefore when truth is elevated 
out of the natural toward the rational,
the person is at the same time elevated 
into intelligence and into wisdom;
moreover all intelligence and wisdom with a person are from this source.
This is what is signified by
the intellectual part being elevated 
above natural memory-knowledges.

SD 4412-4413 - Paul

SD 4412-4413
Paul is among the worst of the apostles . . ..
The love of self, in which he was ensnared before he preached the gospel,
remained with him also afterwards,
and because he was then, for the most part, in a like state,
he was prompted by that love 
and by his nature to wish to be in scenes of tumult.
He did all things from the end of being greatest in heaven,
and of judging the tribes of Israel.
That he remained such afterwards appears from very much experience,
for I spoke with him more than with others;
and he is such,
that the rest of the apostles in the other life rejected him from their company,
and no longer recognize him for one of themselves.
. . . he associated himself to one of the worst devils,
who would fain rule all things,
and pledged himself to this spirit to obtain for him his end;
besides many other things, which it would be too tedious to relate.
If all the things which I know concerning Paul should be related,
they would be enough to fill sheets.
That he wrote epistles does not prove
that he was such [as that would seem to imply],
for even the impious can preach well and write epistles;
it is one thing to be,
and another to speak and to write, as was also said to him.
Moreover he has not mentioned, in his epistles,
the least word of what the Lord taught, nor cited one of his parables,
so that he received nothing from the life and discourse of the Lord,
as was also said to him,
when yet in the Evangelists is the very Gospel itself.

There was a certain one 
who was insensible to the internal sense of the Word,
because he wished to place merit in his actions (:Paul:).
He was for a long time at a distance from me,
and also among the worst class of spirits.
He now associated himself with the worst devils,
and now wished to form a heaven to himself [of spirits]
to whom he might give joys from himself,
but the joys of cupidities and pleasures;
this also he attempted, but he became worse in consequence of it,
and was cast down. I then spoke to him that this was not heaven but hell;
and it was actually turned into a black hell.
He wished especially to have hypocrites [about him]
concerning whom I spoke with him;
there were hypocrites with me for several days,
which I was able to know by the pain in my teeth:
they tacitly pressed upon me without intermission;
and it was perceived and said that this was from Paul,
who hates the internal sense,
and that the anger of that hatred
has the effect of drawing hypocrites [about him],
and that such is the connection of things,
for hypocrites believe nothing,
but still esteem the literal sense of the Word,
because they can then take many things
and apply them in persuading the vulgar,
and thus contrive to appear pious.  

SD 4405 - the language of spirits; SD 4409 - the inmost of conjugial love

SD 4405
I spoke with him in the language of spirits,
illustrated by representative ideas;
for the language of spirits is such that,
in expressing anything,
they also present it, as it were visible,
but in modes which cannot be described.
Affections, cupidities, and similar things
are presented to the life by variations of light,
and these too modified with an almost endless variety.
This speech is perceived very rapidly,
so that more can be expressed [by it] in a moment,
than by human speech in hours.

SD 4409
. . . in love truly conjugial,
the inmost is a principle of conscience.

AC 3179 - what we know

AC 3179 [2]
. . . the things that take place during a person's regeneration
are altogether unknown to him;
and if he were to know only one out of ten thousand of them
he would be astounded.
There are countless, indeed an endless number
of secret things by which a person is at that time led of the Lord,
only some of which shine forth from the internal sense of the Word. 

SD 4376 - the Lord willed to be born on this earth

SD 4376
. . . the Lord willed to be born on this earth,
because, if He had not done so,
earth would have perished;
and as the human race inhabiting our earth
corresponds for the most part to corporeal things,
they could not be otherwise united with interiors
than by the Lord's becoming man;
especially after the correspondence had begun to perish,
which continued
as long as there was anything of a celestial church,
that is, of love to the Lord.
(August 25, 1749)

AC 3170 - all peace is from good and truth

AC 3170
And they passed the night.
(Genesis 24:54)
 . . . the signification of "passing the night," as being to rest,
and in the internal sense to have peace.
The case within is this:
When spiritual things are being appropriated to the natural person,
those things recede
which belong to cupidity of evil and persuasion of falsity,
which thus induce unrest;
and those approach
which belong to the affection of good and of truth,
consequently those things which cause peace;
for all unrest is from evil and falsity,
and all peace is from good and truth. 

AC 3158 - conjunction & freedom

AC 3158
. . . the initiation and conjunction of good and truth
are spiritual betrothal and spiritual marriage.
In each there is required a free state of deliberation.
That this is necessary in betrothal and marriage,
is well known;
but that it is required
in the initiation and conjunction of good and truth,
is not so well known,
because it is not apparent to the natural person,
and because such initiation and conjunction
are among the things that are accomplished
without a person's reflecting upon them;
nevertheless during every moment
when a person is being reformed and regenerated,
it comes to pass that he is in a state of freedom
when truth is being conjoined with good.
. . . truth, which is of faith,
never becomes a person's as his
until it has been received by the will, that is,
until it has been initiated and conjoined with the good there;
and that this cannot be effected except in a free state.

SD 4352 - hypocrites; SD 4354 - ratiocinators

SD 4252
. . . hypocrites and the deceitful
are far more foolish and stupid than others
who openly utter what is right and true.
It was found, upon his being explored,
that he accounted himself most prudent and wise,
supposing that no one closely observed him;
whereas all could take note of his hypocrisy and deceit,
which in fact is granted to nearly every person . . ..
That they should think that no one could see
and know this is to be attributed to their folly,
and is a proof that they discern less than others.
All the deceitful are of this character.
(August 14, 1749)
This holds still more in the other life,
but they still retain the idea
of their being able to do everything they wish,
and that no one knows or observes them,
when yet it is altogether the reverse.

SD 4364
Those who were deceived by his hypocrisy or pride
were ratiocinators,
such as do not know what goodness and truth are,
but suffer themselves to be seduced by such characters
and to be borne away wherever they please,
and consequently drinking in delight.
Ratiocinators are the arms and hands of evil spirits;
as soon as ever such spirits perceive
their propensity in this direction
they captivate them by their own dialetic arts,
and by insinuating delight
lead them whithersoever they will,
although they deal only in what is most false and deceitful. 

AC 3142 - sweeping (to prepare); AC 3147 - washing (to purify)

AC 3142
The reason "to sweep" signifies to prepare and to be filled,
is that nothing else is required of a person than to sweep the house;
that is, to reject the cupidities of evil
and the derivative persuasions of falsity;
for he is then filled with goods,
because good is continually flowing in from the Lord -
but into "the house," that is, into the person
who is purified from such things as impede the influx . . ..
So it was common with the ancients
to speak of sweeping or cleaning the house,
and of sweeping and preparing the way;
and by sweeping the house
was meant to purify one's self from evils,
and thereby to prepare one's self for goods to enter;
but by sweeping the way
was meant to prepare one's self so that truths might be received
(for by a "house" was signified good;
and by a "way," truth.  As in Isaiah:

The voice of one crying in the wilderness,
Sweep [prepare] ye the way of Jehovah;
make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
(Isaiah 40:3)

AC 3147
. . . washing with water, as being to purify . . ..
In the representative church it was customary to wash the feet with water,
and thereby to signify
that the unclean things of the natural person were washed away.
The unclean things of the natural person
are all those things which are of the love of self
and of the love of the world;
and when these unclean things have been washed away,
then goods and truths flow in,
for it is solely these unclean things
that hinder the influx of good and truth from the Lord.

SD 4350 - the celestial affection of conjugial love

SD 4350
. . . with those who are in true conjugial love
the interiors are opened towards heaven and the Lord
for it is an affection which derives its origin from the Lord alone,
who flows in through the inmost,
so that its quality and source cannot be adequately described;
but it is a consequence of this influx that the interiors are opened,
and that one who is the subject of it is in celestial affection,
and thus has the Lord's kingdom within himself.
From the same source also is derived the love towards infants,
and because such an one is so receptible of celestial loves,
he receives also mutual love towards the neighbor,
for this follows from genuine conjugial love
as from a kind of fountain.
(August 13, 1749)