Jesus on Trial Before the Sanhedrin

They took Jesus to the high priest,
and all the chief priests, elders and teachers of the law
came together.

The chief priest and the whole Sanhedrin
were looking for evidence against Jesus
so that they could put Him to death,
but they did not find any.
Many testified falsely against Him,
but their statements did not agree.

Again the high priest asked Him,
"Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?"

"I am," said Jesus.
"And you will see the Son of Man
sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One
and coming on the clouds of heaven."

The high priest tore his clothes.
"Why do we need any more witnesses?" he asked.
"You have heard the blasphemy.
What do you think?"

They all condemned Him as worthy of death.
Then some began to spit at Him;
they blindfolded Him,
struck Him with their fists, and said, "Prophesy!"
And the guards took Him and beat Him.

(Mark 14:53, 55-56, 61-65)

AE 1226 - Loving the Lord, the Neighbor, and Being Useful

AE 1226 [7]

. . . no one can be kept by the Lord in love to the neighbor
unless he is in some love for the public good;
and no one can be in that love
unless he is in the love of use for the sake of use,
or in the love of use from use,
thus from the Lord.

Believe and Forgive

In the morning, as they went along,
they saw the fig tree withered from the roots.
Peter remembered and said to Jesus,
"Rabbi, look!  The fig tree You cursed has withered!"

"Have faith in God," Jesus answered.
"I tell you the truth,
if anyone says to this mountain,
'Go, throw yourself into the sea,'
and does not doubt in his heart
but believes that what he says will happen,
it will be done for him.
Therefore I tell you,
whatever you ask for in prayer,
believe that you have received it,
and it will be yours.
And when you stand praying,
if you hold anything against anyone,
forgive him,
so that your Father in heaven
may forgive you your sins."

(Mark 11:20-26)

AE 1217 - For the Lord God, the Almighty Reigns

AE 1217

Saying, Alleluia for the Lord God, the Almighty reigns,
(Revelation 19:6)

signifies joy and gladness
that the Lord has now a kingdom on the earth
as in the heavens.
This is evident from the signification of "Alleluia,"
as being an expression of glorification of the Lord
from joy of heart.
The two expressions, joy and gladness are used
because in the Word "joy" is predicated of good,
and "gladness" of truth,
and here both the angels that were in truths
and those that were in goods said "Alleluia."
It is evident also from the signification of
"the Lord God, the Almighty, reigns"
as being that His kingdom is on the earth as in the heavens,
which means that when the good
have been separated from the evil,
and the evil have been cast into hell,
all the good came into a better state
for receiving truth and good from the Lord,
a state in which they had not been before.
For so long as they were held in connection with the evil,
if they had received goods and truths
they would have defiled and perverted them.
For the same reason
interior truths were not revealed on the earth
until that separation had been effected
by means of the Last Judgment. 

And All Who Touched Him

When they had crossed over,
they landed at Gennesaret and anchored there.
As soon as they got out of the boat,
people recognized Jesus.
They ran throughout that whole region
and carried the sick on mats to wherever they heard He was.
And wherever He went --
into villages, towns or countryside --
they placed the sick in the marketplaces.
They begged Him
to let them touch even the edges of His cloak,
and all who touched Him were healed.

(Mark 6:53-56)

AE 1210

Saying, Praise God, all ye His servants,
(Revelation 19:5)
signifies worship of the Lord by those who are in truths.

"To praise God" signifies confession and worship,
because the Lord has no wish to be praised and glorified
from any love of Himself,
but only from His love for man,
for man must needs praise and glorify the Lord,
that is, give praise and glory to Him,
when he acknowledges in heart
that there is nothing of good in himself,
and that he can do nothing of himself,
and on the other hand,
that all good is from the Lord,
and that the Lord can do all things.
When man is in this acknowledgment
he puts aside what is his own [proprium],
which belongs to the love of self,
and opens all things of his mind,
and thus gives room for the Divine to flow in
with good and with power.
This is why it is necessary
for man to be in humiliation before the Lord,
and why humiliation can be from no other source
than self-acknowledgment
and acknowledgment of the Lord . . ..

Dinner at Levi's House

Once again Jesus went out beside the Lake.
A large crowd came to Him,
and He began to teach them.
As He walked along,
He saw Levi son of Alphaeus
sitting at the tax collector's booth.
"Follow Me," Jesus told him,
and Levi got up and followed Him.

While Jesus was having dinner at Levi's house,
many tax collectors and "sinners"
were eating with Him and His disciples,
for there were many who followed Him.
When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees
saw Him eating with the "sinners" and tax collectors,
they asked His disciples:
"Why does He eat with tax collectors and 'sinners'?"

On hearing this, Jesus said to them,
"It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.
I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."

(Mark 2:13-17)

AE 1206 - "To Fall Down"

AE 1206

And the twenty-four elders and the four animals fell down
(Revelation 19:4)

signifies humiliation of heart of the higher heavens.
. . . "To fall down" means humiliation of heart,
because falling down upon the knees and upon the face
is a gesture corresponding to inmost humiliation,
which is called humiliation of heart;
for by creation there are gestures
corresponding to every affection,
and a man falls into them spontaneously
when he comes into the affection,
provided he has not learned
to counterfeit affections that are foreign to him;
while one who has learned to do so
takes on gestures from himself
by which he depicts affections of the heart,
although they do not belong at all to his heart.
Such can fall down before God,
but it is a purely counterfeit act.

This has been said to make known
that "falling down before God"
means to act from inmost affection,
which is called humiliation of heart;
this precedes worship,
which is an act of the lips. 

John the Baptist Fulfills Isaiah's Prophecy

The beginning of the gospel
about Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

It is written in Isaiah the prophet:

"I will send My messenger ahead of You,
who will prepare Your way" --
" voice of one calling in the desert,
'Prepare the way for the Lord,
make straight paths for Him.'"

And so John came,
baptizing in the desert region
and preaching a baptism
of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
The whole Judean countryside
and all the people of Jerusalem
went out to him.
Confessing their sins,
they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.
John wore clothing made of camel's hair,
with a leather belt around his waist,
and he ate locusts and wild honey.
And this was his message:

"After me will come One more powerful than I,
the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy
to stoop down and untie.
I baptize you with water,
but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."

(Mark 1:1-8 from Isaiah 40:3)

AE 1197 - Alleluia

AE 1197

Saying, Alleluia,
(Revelation 19:1)

signifies the glorification of the Lord,
as is evident from the signification of "Alleluia,"
as being the glorification of the Lord;
for in the original language
"Alleluia" means, Praise ye God,
and thus, Glorify ye the Lord.

A Prophecy Through Zechariah To Be Fulfilled

Then Jesus told them,
"This very night you will all fall away in account of Me,
for it is written:

"'I will strike the Shepherd,
and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.'

But after I have risen,
I will go ahead of you unto Galilee."

(Matthew 26:31-32 from Zechariah 13:7)

AE 1193, 1194 - Uses and the Neighbor

AE 1193 [2,3,4], 1194

To love uses is nothing else than to love the neighbor,
for use in the spiritual sense is the neighbor.

Use is the neighbor,
because every man is valued and loved
not for his will and understanding alone,
but for the uses he performs
or is able to perform from these.

When man loves uses by doing them in the first place,
and loves the world and self in the second place,
the former constitutes his spiritual and the latter his natural;
and the spiritual rules,
and the natural serves.
. . . This is the meaning of the Lord's words in Matthew:

Seek ye first the kingdom of the heavens and its justice,
and all things shall be added unto you.
(Matthew 6:33)

"The kingdom of the heavens"
means the Lord and His church,
and "justice" means spiritual, moral, and civil good;
and every good that is done from the love of these is a use.
Then "all things shall be added,"
because when use is in the first place,
the Lord, from whom is all good,
is in the first place and rules,
and gives whatever contributes to eternal life and happiness;
for, as has been said,
all things of the Lord's Divine providence pertaining to man
look to what is eternal.
"All things that shall be added"
refer to food and raiment,
because food means everything internal
that nourishes the soul,
and raiment everything external
that like the body clothes it.
Everything internal has reference to love and wisdom,
and everything external to wealth and eminence.

As man was created to perform uses,
and this is to love the neighbor,
so all who come into heaven,
however many there are,
must do uses.
All the delight and blessedness of these
is according to uses and to the love of uses.
Heavenly joy is from no other source.
He who believes that such joy is possible in idleness
is much deceived.
. . . No idle person is tolerated even in hell. 
The difference is
that in hell uses are done from fear,
but in heaven from love;
and fear does not give joy,
but love does. 

 

The Children

The blind and the lame came to Him at the temple,
and He healed them.
But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law
saw the wonderful things He did
and the children shouting in the temple area,
"Hosanna to the Son of David,"
they were indignant.

"Do you hear what these children are saying?"
they asked Him.

"Yes," replied Jesus, "have you never read,
"'From the lips of children and infants
you have ordained praise'?"

And He left them and went out of the city to Bethany,
where He spent the night.
__________

"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem,
you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you,
how often I have longed to gather your children together,
as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings,
but you were not willing.
Look, your house is left to you desolate.
For I tell you,
you will not see Me again until you say,
'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.'"

(Matthew 21:14-17; 23:37-38)

AE 1190 - To Love Wisdom Is To Love Uses

AE 1190 [2]

To love wisdom is to love uses that are true uses,
and to love knowledge is to love
the cognitions of good and truth for the sake of such uses.
When uses are loved more than self and the world,
and the cognitions of good and truth
are loved for the sake of uses,
uses have the first place
and eminence and wealth the second place;
and this is the case with all
who are eminent and rich in the heavens.
They look upon the eminence they have from wisdom,
and the wealth they have from knowledge,
just as a man looks upon his garments.
 

The Temple Tax

After Jesus and His disciples arrived in Capernaum,
the Collectors of the two-drachma tax
came to Peter and asked,
"Doesn't your teacher pay the temple tax?"

"Yes, He does," he replied.

When Peter came into the house,
Jesus was the first to speak.
"What do you think, Simon?" He asked.
"From whom do the kings of the earth collect duty and taxes --
from their own sons or from others?"

"From others," Peter answered.

"Then the sons are exempt," Jesus said to him.
"But so that we may not offend them,
go to the lake and throw out your line.
Take the first fish you catch;
open its mouth and you will find a four-drachma coin.
Take it and give it to them for My tax and yours."

(Matthew 17:24-27)

AE 1179 - The Lord Provides That Everyone Can Be Saved

AE 1179 [2-4]

The Lord flows in continually
with an abundance of the good of love,
but He cannot be conjoined to man
in the fullness of the truth of faith,
but only in that which is with man,
and this varies;
it can be given in greater fullness
with those who are where the Word is,
and in less fullness with those
who are where there is no Word;
and yet the fullness varies in both
in proportion to their knowledge
and their life according to it,
and consequently it may be greater
with those who have not the Word
than with those who have it.

The conjunction of God with man
and of man with God
is taught in the two tables
that were written with the finger of God,
and called "the tables of the covenant,"
"of the testimony," and "of the law."
In one table is God, in the other man.
All nations that have any religion have these tables;
from the first table
they know that God must be acknowledged,
regarded as holy, and worshiped;
from the other table
they know that they must not steal,
either openly or secretly by crafty devices;
that they must not commit adultery;
that they must not kill either by the hand or by hatred;
that they must not bear false witness
in a court of justice or before the world;
and also that they must not will these things.
From his table
man knows the evils that must be shunned,
and just so far as he knows them
and shuns them as if from himself,
God conjoins the man to Himself
and enables him from His table
to acknowledge Him,
to regard Him as holy,
and to worship Him,
and also enables him not to will evils,
and so far as he does not will evils
to know truths in abundance.
Thus these two tables are conjoined with man,
and God's table is placed above man's table,
and they are put as one table into the ark,
over which is the mercy-seat,
which is the Lord,
and over the mercy-seat the two cherubim
which are the Word and what is from the Word,
in which the Lord speaks with man
as he spoke with Moses and Aaron between the cherubim.

Since, then, there is conjunction of the Lord with man
and of man with the Lord by these means,
evidently everyone who knows them
and lives according to them,
not merely from the civil and moral law,
but also from the Divine law,
will be saved;
thus everyone in his own religion,
whether Christian or Mohammedan or Gentile.
And what is more,
a man who from religion lives these truths,
even if in the world he knows nothing about the Lord,
nor anything else from the Word,
yet he is in such a state as to his spirit
that he wishes to become wise;
consequently after death he is instructed by the angels
and acknowledges the Lord
and receives truths according to his affection
and becomes an angel.
Every such person is like a man who dies an infant,
for he is led by the Lord and is educated by the angels.
Those who from ignorance
and from having been born in such a place
have known nothing of worship,
are after death instructed like little children,
and according to their civil and moral life
receive the means of salvation.
I have seen such, and at first they did not appear like men;
but afterwards I saw them as men,
and heard them speaking sanely
from the commandments of the Decalogue.
To instruct such is the inmost angelic joy.
From all this it is now clear
that the Lord provides that every man can be saved.

A Prophecy From Psalms Fulfilled

Jesus spoke all these things to the crowd in parables;
He did not say anything to them without using a parable.
So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophet:

"I will open My mouth in parables,
I will utter things hidden since the creation of the world."

(Matthew 13:34-35 from Psalm 78:2)

AE 1174 - The Lord Gently, Quietly Leads As If By the Hand

AE 1174 [2-3]

The affections of man,
from which are his thoughts,
have extension
into societies in the spiritual world on every side,
into more or fewer of them
according to the amount and quality of the affection.
Man as to his spirit is within these societies,
and to them he is attached as it were with extended cords,
which determine the space where he can walk.
As he passes from one affection into another,
so he passes from one society into another,
and the society he is in,
and the place where he is in the society,
is the center from which the affection and its thought
extends to other societies as circumferences,
and these are thus in unbroken connection
with the affection at the center,
and from that affection man then thinks and speaks.

Man acquires this sphere,
which is the sphere of his affections and thoughts therefrom,
while he is in the world;
from hell if he is evil,
from heaven if he is good.
Of this man is ignorant,
because he does not know that such things exist.
Through these societies man, that is, man's mind,
although bound walks free;
but he is led by the Lord,
and he takes no step into which and from which
the Lord does not lead;
and yet the Lord grants continually
that man shall have no other thought
than that he goes of himself in full liberty;
and he is permitted to persuade himself of this
because it is according to a law of the Divine providence
that man shall go whithersoever his affection wills.
If his affection is evil
he is conveyed through infernal societies;
and if he does not look to the Lord
he is carried into these societies more interiorly and deeply.
And yet the Lord leads him as if by the hand,
permitting and withholding
as far as man is willing to follow in freedom.
But if man looks to the Lord
he is led forth from these societies gradually,
according to the order and connection in which they stand,
which order and connection no one knows
but the Lord only,
and thus he is brought by continual steps
out of hell up towards heaven and into heaven.


The Lord does this without the man's knowing it,
because if man knew it
he would disturb the continuity of that process
by leading himself.
It is enough for man to learn truths from the Word,
and by means of truths to know what good is,
and from truths and goods what evils and falsities are,
in order that he may be affected by truths and goods,
and not be affected by falsities and evils.
Before he knows goods and truths
he may have a knowledge of evils and falsities,
but he is not able to see them and perceive them.
In this and in no other way
can man be led from one affection into another
in freedom and as if of himself.
This is done
by leading according to the affection of truth and good
when man acknowledges
the Lord's Divine providence in every particular;
and it is done by permission
according to an affection for evil and falsity
when man does not acknowledge such a providence.
So, too, man becomes capable of receiving intelligence
corresponding to affection;
and this he receives so far as from truths
he fights against evils as if of himself.
This must be revealed,
because it is not known
that the Divine providence is continual,
and enters into the most minute things of man's life,
and because it is not known how this can be.

A Prophecy Through Isaiah Fulfilled

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

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

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

(Matthew 12:14-21 from Isaiah 42:14)

AE 1171 - The Love of the Will

AE 1171 (continuation #4)

The love of the will
gives intelligence according to its quality.
Natural love from spiritual love
gives intelligence in civil and moral matters;
but spiritual love in natural love
gives intelligence in spiritual matters;
but merely natural love
and the conceit that comes from it
does not give intelligence in spiritual matters,
but gives the ability to confirm whatever it pleases,
and after confirmation so infatuates the understanding
that it sees falsity as truth, and evil as good. 

I Have Come

"Do not think that I have come
to abolish the Law or the Prophets;
I have not come to abolish them
but to fulfill them.
I tell you the truth,
until heaven and earth disappear,
not the smallest letter,
not the least stroke of a pen,
will by any means disappear from the Law
until everything is accomplished."

(Matthew 5:17-18)

AE 1162, 1163, 1166 - Turning

AE 1162 [2], 1163, 1166

The eighth law of the Divine providence is
that the Lord is continually withdrawing man from evils
so far as man is willing from freedom to be withdrawn;
that so far as man can be withdrawn from evils
the Lord leads him to good and thus to heaven;
but so far as man cannot be withdrawn from evils
the Lord cannot lead him to good and thus to heaven;
for so far as man has been withdrawn from evils
so far he does good from the Lord,
and that good is good in itself;
but so far as he has not been withdrawn from evils,
so far he does good from himself,
and that good has evil within it.


. . . the interiors of all things of the human mind,
and with them the interiors of all things of the spirit,
are capable of being turned
either downwards or upwards.
They are turned downwards
when man loves himself above all things;
and they are turned upwards
when he loves the Lord above all things.
This is an actual turning.
Man from himself turns them downwards,
while the Lord from Himself turns them upwards.
The ruling love is what turns.
Thoughts do not turn the interiors of the mind
except so far as they are derived from the will.
That all this is true man does not know;
and yet he ought to know it
in order that he may understand
how he is led out of hell and led into heaven by the Lord.


The Lord alone resists the evils with man by Himself
and not through any angels of heaven,
because to resist evils with man
is a work of Divine omnipotence,
Divine omniscience,
and Divine providence.

An Angel Appears to Joseph

This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about:
His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph,
but before they came together,
she was found to be with Child through the Holy Spirit.
Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man
and did not want to expose her to public disgrace,
he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

But after he had considered this,
an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said,
"Joseph son of David,
do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife,
because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.
She will give birth to a Son,
and you are to give Him the name Jesus,
because He will save His people from their sins."

All this took place
to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet:
"The virgin will be with Child
and will give birth to a Son,
and they will call Him Immanuel" --
which means "God with us."

When Joseph woke up,
he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him
and took Mary home as his wife.
But he had no union with her
until she gave birth to a Son.
And he gave Him the name Jesus.

(Matthew 2:18-25)

AE 1158, 1160 - Being Reformed

AE 1158 [2], 1160 [3]

. . . being reformed is nothing else
than being removed from evil loves.

. . .  the Lord by his Divine providence . . .
separates the holy things with man
from those that are not holy,
and stores up the holy things
in the interiors of his mind,
and raises them up to Himself;
while the the things not holy
He stores up in the exteriors,
and turns them to the world.

I the Lord

"I the Lord do not change."

(Malachi 3:6)

AE 1154 - A Garden and a House

AE 1154 [2-3]

The operation of the Divine providence,
man not knowing it,
may be illustrated by two comparisons.

It is like a gardener
collecting the seeds of shrubs, fruit trees,
and flowers of all kinds,
and providing himself with spades, rakes,
and other tools for working the land,
and then fertilizing his garden, digging it,
dividing it into beds, putting in the seeds,
and smoothing the surface.
All these things man must do as if of himself.
But it is the Lord who causes the seeds to take root,
to spring forth out of the earth,
to shoot forth into leaves,
and then into blossoms,
and finally to yield new seeds
for the benefit of the gardener.

Again, it is like a man about to build a house,
who provides himself with the necessary materials,
as timber, rafters, stones, mortar, and other things.
But afterwards the Lord builds the house
from foundation to roof
exactly adapted to the man,
though the man does not know it.
From this it follows,
that unless a man provides the necessary things
for a garden or a house,
he will have no garden with the benefit of its fruits,
and no house and thence no habitation.

So it is with reformation.
The things that man must provide himself with
are the knowledges of truth and good from the Word,
from the doctrine of the church,
from the world,
and by his own labor.
The Lord does everything else
while man is ignorant of it.
But it is to be known,
that all things necessary
to planting a garden or building a house,
which, as has been said,
are the knowledges of truth and good,
are nothing but the materials,
and have no life in them
until man does them or lives according to them
as if of himself.
When that is done
the Lord enters and vivifies and builds,
that is, reforms.
Such a garden, or such a house
is man's understanding,
for therein is his wisdom,
which derives from love all that it is.
  

On That Day

A day of the Lord is coming
when your plunder will be divided among you.

On that day
His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives,
east of Jerusalem,
and the Mount of Olives will be split in two
from east to west,
forming a great valley,
with half of the mountain moving north
and half moving south.
You will flee by My mountain valley,
for it will extend to Azel.
You will flee
as you fled from the earthquake
in the days of Uzziah king of Judah.
Then the Lord my God will come,
and all the holy ones with Him.

On that day
there will be no light, no cold or frost.
It will be a unique day,
without daytime or nighttime --
a day known to the Lord.
When evening comes,
there will be light.

On that day
living water will flow out from Jerusalem,
half to the eastern sea
and half to the western sea,
in summer and in winter.

The Lord will be king over the whole earth.
On that day
there will be one Lord,
and His name the only name.

(Zechariah 14:1, 4-9)
 

AE 1150 - Doctrine and Worship

AE 1150

There is this distinction between doctrine and worship,
that doctrine teaches how God must be worshiped,
and how man must live that he may withdraw from hell
and draw near to heaven;
but this is effected by worship,
since worship is actual as well as oral.

The Word of the Lord to Zechariah

In the eighth month of the second year of Darius,
the word of the Lord came to the prophet Zechariah
son of Berekiah, the son of Iddo:

"The Lord was very angry with your forefathers.
Therefore tell the people:
This is what the Lord Almighty says:
'Return to Me,' declares the Lord Almighty,
'and I will return to you,' says the Lord Almighty."


This what the Lord Almighty says:
"Just as I had determined to bring disaster upon you
and showed no pity when your fathers angered Me,"
says the Lord Almighty, "so now I have determined
to do good again to Jerusalem and Judah.
Do not be afraid.
These are the things your are to do:
Speak the truth to each other,
and render true and sound judgment in your courts;
do not plot evil against your neighbor,
and do not love to swear falsely.
I hate all this," declares the Lord.

(Zechariah 1:1-3; 8:14-17)

AE 1144 - We Are What We Love

AE 1144 [2]

Man was created to love self and the world,
to love the neighbor and heaven,
and to love the Lord.
For this reason when a man is born
he first loves himself and the world,
and afterwards, so far as he becomes wise,
he loves the neighbor and heaven,
and as he becomes still wiser
he loves the Lord.
Such a man is in the Divine order,
and is actually led by the Lord,
although apparently by himself.
But so far as he is not wise
he stops in the first degree,
which is to love himself and the world;
and if he loves the neighbor, heaven, and the Lord,
it is for the sake of self before the world.
But if he is wholly unwise
he loves himself alone,
and the world and also the neighbor for the sake of self;
while heaven and the Lord
he either despises or denies
or hates in heart, if not in words. 

 

The Lord Tells Zephaniah

". . . I will purify the lips of the peoples,
that all of them may call on the name of the Lord
and serve Him shoulder to shoulder.

. . . they will speak no lies,
nor will deceit be found in their mouths.
They will eat and lie down
and no one will make them afraid.

Th Lord your God is with you,
He is mighty to save.
He will take great delight in you,
He will quiet you with His love,
He will rejoice over you with singing."

(Zephaniah 3:9, 13, 17)

AE 1138 - The Laws of Divine Providence Are the Laws of Order

AE 1138 [2]

. . . the Lord can lead man to heaven
only by means of these laws,
although he has Divine love from which He wills,
and Divine wisdom from which He knows all things,
and Divine power, which is omnipotence,
from which He can do what He wills.
For these laws that are called laws of providence
are laws of order respecting reformation and regeneration,
thus respecting the salvation of man,
and against these the Lord cannot act,
since to act against them
would be to act against His own wisdom
and against His own love,
thus against Himself.

Seek the Lord

Seek the Lord,
all you humble of the land,
you who do what He commands.

(Zephaniah 2:3)
 

AE 1136 - Two of the Laws of Divine Providence

AE 1136 [4, 10]

Man's understanding and will
must not be compelled by another in the least,
since all compulsion by another takes away freedom,
but man himself should compel himself,
for to compel oneself is to act from freedom.


Man from his own prudence
has led himself to eminence and opulence,
when these lead him astray;
for by the Divine providence
man is led only to such things as do not lead astray
and as are serviceable to eternal life;
for all things of the Divine providence with man
look to what is eternal,
since the life which is God,
from which man is man,
is eternal life.

"Of what value is an idol,
since a man has carved it?
Or an image that teaches lies?
For he who makes it trusts in his own creation;
he makes idols that cannot speak.
Woe to him who says to wood, 'Come to life!'
Or to a lifeless stone, 'Wake up!'
Can it give guidance?
It is covered with gold and silver;
there is no breath in it.

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

(Habakkuk 2:18-20)

AE 1129 - The Universe

AE 1129 [5]

. . . the created universe is full of God.

AE 1127 - A Man Becomes What a Man Is

AE 1127 [2, 3]

. . . a man who in the world
has been merely corporeal
and consequently stupid as to his life,
appears nevertheless
after the rejection of the material body
as a man in the spiritual world.
A man who as to his life in the world
has been merely sensual or natural,
thus who has known little about heaven
although much about the world,
nevertheless after death
appears as a man.
A man who as to his life in the world
has been rational,
and has thought rightly from natural light,
when after death he becomes a spirit
appears as a man.
A man who as to his life in the world
has been spiritual,
when after death he becomes an angel
appears as a man,
perfect in the measure of his reception
of life from the Lord.
A man in whom
the third degree of life has been opened,
thus who as to his life in the world
has been a celestial man,
when after death he becomes an angel
appears as a man in all perfection.


Life from the Lord is love and wisdom;
consequently such as the reception
of love and wisdom from the Lord is,
such is the man. 

 

The Lord Will Be My Light

Do not gloat over me, my enemy!
Though I have fallen,
I will rise.
Though I sit in darkness,
the Lord will be my light.
Because I have sinned against Him,
I will bear the Lord's wrath,
until He pleads my case
and establishes my right.
He will bring me out into the light;
I will see His righteousness.

(Micah 7:8-9)

AE 1124 - A Sunbeam

AE 1124 [2]

The Divine love,
which in the Divine wisdom is the life itself which is God,
is not in its essence thinkable,
for it is infinite and thus transcends comprehension,
but in its appearance it is thinkable.

Before the eyes of angels the Lord appears as a sun,
and from that sun proceed heat and light.
The sun is the Divine love,
the heat is the Divine love proceeding,
which is called the Divine good,
and the light is the Divine wisdom proceeding,
which is called the Divine truth.
And yet the life that is God
must not be thought of as a fire or heat or light,
unless there goes with it
the thought at the same time
of love and of wisdom,
that is, that the Divine love is like fire,
and the Divine wisdom is like light,
and the Divine love and the Divine wisdom together
are like a sunbeam.

For God is a perfect Man,
in face like Man and in body like Man,
with no difference as to form
but only as to essence;
His essence is that He is love itself and wisdom itself,
thus life itself. 

 

Jonah Prays

From inside the fish
Jonah prayed to the Lord his God.
He said:

"In my distress I called to the Lord,
and He answered me.
From the depths of the grave I called for help,
and You listened to my cry.
You hurled me into the deep
into the very heart of the seas,
and the currents swirled about me;
I said, 'I have been banished from Your sight;
yet I will look again toward Your holy temple.'
The engulfing waters threatened me,
the deep surrounded me;
seaweed was wrapped around my head.
To the roots of the mountains I sank down;
the earth beneath barred me in forever.
But You brought my life up from the pit,
O Lord my god.

"When my life was ebbing away,
I remembered you, Lord,
and my prayer rose to You,
to Your holy temple.

"Those who cling to worthless idols
forfeit the grace that could be theirs.
But I, with a song of thanksgiving,
will sacrifice to You.
What I have vowed
I will make good.
Salvation comes from the Lord."

And the Lord commanded the fish,
and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.

(Jonah 2)

AE 1112, 1114, 1115 - Separation From and Being In the Lord

AE 1112 [2]

. . . the Lord does not separate Himself from such (the evil),
but that they separate themselves from the Lord;
for the Lord regards everyone from the face
and not from the back of the head;
and for this reason
the angels of heaven
have the Lord continually before their face,
and this whichever way they turn,
but evil spirits turn the face away from the Lord
and turn to Him the back part of the head,
and thus they separate themselves from Him.
The falsities from evils that are with them are what do this.

AE 1114

. . . it is attributed to the Lord Himself that He is angry,
that He punishes, and thus that He acts from revenge;
and yet anger and revenge are not possible in the Lord,
and consequently not in those
who are led by the Lord and live from Him.

AE 1115 [5]

An angel is not an angel from what is his own,
but from the Divine that he receives from the Lord.

As You Have Done

"The day of the Lord is near for all nations.
As you have done,
it will be done to you;
your deeds will return upon your own head.
Just as you drank on My holy hill,
so all the nations will drink continually;
they will drink and drink
and be as if they had never been.
But on Mount Zion will be deliverance;
it will be holy . . .."

(Obadiah 1:15-17)

AE 1108 - One Man Who Is God

AE 1108 [2]

. . . the soul does not change itself into body,
nor so mingle itself with body as to become body,
but it takes a body to itself.
Thus soul and body, although the two are distinct,
are still one man,
and in respect to the Lord,
one Christ, that is, one Man who is God.

The Lord God Almighty

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

(Amos 4:13)


Seek good, not evil,
that you may live.
Then the Lord God Almighty will be with you,
just as you say He is.

(Amos 5:14)

AE 1106 - A Voice From Heaven

AE 1106

. . . every thing a man absorbs from the Word
is a voice from heaven . . ..

 

AE 1105 - Thinking About the Lord

AE 1105 [3, 5]

. . . those who separate the Divine from His Human,
and do not think that the Divine is in His Human
as the soul is in the body,
and that the two are one Person,
may fall into strange ideas about the Lord,
even into an idea like that of a man separated from his soul.
Take heed, therefore,
not to think of the Lord as a man like yourself,
but think of the Lord as Man who is God.


That the Divine is in the Lord's Human
as the soul is in the body
the Word teaches and testifies in Matthew and in Luke.

When Mary had been betrothed to Joseph,
before they came together,
she was found with child of the Holy Spirit.
And an angel said to Joseph in a dream,
Fear not to take Mary thy bride,
for that which is begotten in her is of the Holy Spirit.
And Joseph knew her not
till she had brought forth her firstborn son,
and he called his name Jesus. 
(Matthew 1:18, 20, 25)

The angel said to Mary,
Behold thou shalt conceive in the womb,
and bring forth a son,
and thou shalt call his name Jesus.
Mary said to the angel,
How shall this be, since I know not a man?
The angel answered and said unto her,
The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee,
and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee,
therefore that Holy One that is born of thee
shall be called the Son of God.
(Luke 1:31-32, 34-35)

All this makes clear
that the Divine was in the Lord from conception,
and that the Divine was His life from the Father,
which life is the soul.

The Lord's Army

Blow the trumpet in Zion;
sound the alarm on My holy hill.
Let all who live in the land tremble,
for the day of the Lord is coming.
It is close at hand --
a day of darkness and gloom,
a day of clouds and blackness.
Like dawn spreading across the mountains
a large and mighty army comes,
such as never was of old
nor ever will be in ages to come.

Before them the earth shakes,
the sky trembles,
the sun and moon are darkened,
and the stars no longer shine.
The Lord thunders at the head of His army,
His forces are beyond number,
and mighty are those who obey His command.
The day of the Lord is great;
it is dreadful.
Who can endure it?

"Even now," declares the Lord,
"return to Me with all your heart,
with fasting and weeping and mourning."

Rend your heart and not your garments.
Return to the Lord our God,
for He is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and abounding in love,
and He relents from sending calamity.
Who knows?
He may turn and have pity
and leave behind a blessing --
grain offerings and drink offerings
for the Lord your God.

(Joel 2:1-2, 10-14)

AE 1100 - Birds

AE 1100 [8, 20]

Jesus said, The kingdom of the heavens
is like unto a grain of mustard seed,
which a man took and sowed in his field,
and it became a tree,
so that the winged things of heaven come
and build nests in the branches thereof.
(Matthew 13:31-32; Mark 4:31-32; Luke 13:19)

"A tree from a grain of mustard seed"
signifies a man of the church,
and also a church beginning
from a very little spiritual good 
by means of truth;
for if only a very little spiritual good takes root with a man
it grows like a seed in good ground.
And as a "tree" thus signifies a man of the church,
it follows that "the winged things of heaven"
that made nests in its branches signify
the knowledges of truth and thoughts therefrom.
Anyone can see this is not a mere comparison,
for if it were,
what would be the need of such things in the Word
and of like things in the Prophets?

In Hosea:

Ephraim, as a bird shall his glory fly away,
from the birth and from the belly and from conception.
(Hosea 9:11)

I will not return to destroy Ephraim.
They shall go after Jehovah.
With honor shall they come as a bird out of Egypt,
and as a dove from the land of Assyria.
(Hos. 11:9-11)

"Ephraim" signifies
the understanding of the truths of the church;
and this is why he is compared to a bird,
and it is said, "as a bird shall his glory fly away."
Also in Hosea (7:12) he is compared to a bird,
for a "bird" signifies
everything pertaining to the understanding, including
the knowing, the thinking, and the reasoning faculties;
while everything that is delightful and pleasurable,
thus that pertains to the will and affection,
is signified by "beast and wild beast." 
"The bird from Egypt"
signifies the knowing faculty,
which pertains to the natural man;
and "the dove from Assyria" the rational faculty,
since "Egypt" signifies the knowing faculty,
and "Assyria" the rational faculty.
Here a church to be established by the Lord
is treated of. 

 

The Righteous Walk, The Rebellious Stumble

Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God.
Your sins have been your downfall!
Take words with you and return to the Lord.
Say to Him:
"Forgive all our sins
and receive us graciously,
that we may offer the fruit of our lips."

Who is wise?
He will realize these things.
Who is discerning?
He will understand them.
The ways of the Lord are right;
the righteous walk in them,
but the rebellious stumble in them.

(Hosea 14:1-2, 9)

AE 1096, 1097 - Thought About the Lord

AE 1096 [2], 1097 [3-4]

The first and foremost thought that opens heaven to man
is thought about God,
and for the reason that God is the all of heaven,
even to the extent that
whether we say heaven or God
it is the same thing.

Thought about God as Man,
in whom is the Divine trinity, that is, the trinity
called the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,
alone opens heaven;
while on the other hand thought about God as not Man,
which idea is presented in appearance as a little cloud,
or as nature in her least parts, closes heaven,
for God is Man,
as the whole angelic heaven in its complex is Man,
and every angel and every spirit is in consequence a man.
For this reason
thought about the Lord as being the God of the universe
is what alone opens heaven, for the Lord says:

The Father has given all things into the hand of the Son.
(John 3:35)

The Father has given the Son power over all flesh.
(John 17:2)

All things have been delivered to Me by the Father.
(Matthew 11:27)

All authority has been given unto Me
in heaven and on earth.
(Matthew 28:18)

All this makes clear
that man without such an idea of God as exists in heaven
cannot be saved.
The idea of God in heaven is the Lord,
for the angels of heaven are in the Lord
and the Lord is in them;
consequently to think of any other God than the Lord
is to them impossible.
Allow me to add that the idea of God as Man
has been implanted from heaven
in every nation throughout the whole world,
but what I lament,
it has been destroyed in Christendom.

For It Is Time

Sow for yourselves righteousness,
reap the fruit of unfailing love,
and break up your unplowed ground;
for it is time to seek the Lord,
until He comes and showers righteousness on you.

(Hosea 10:12)

AE 1092 - Where Are You?

AE 1092 [5]

. . . man is in the spiritual world with his head
as he is in the natural world with his body,
head meaning here his mind,
which consists of understanding, thought, will, and love,
and body here meaning his senses,
which are seeing, hearing, smelling, taste, and touch.
And as a man is in the spiritual world as to his head,
that is, as to his mind,
so he is either in heaven or in hell;
and where the mind is
there the whole man with the head and body is
when he becomes a spirit.
Moreover, man is wholly such as his conjunction is
with the societies of the spiritual world,
such an angel as his conjunction is
with the societies of heaven,
and such a devil as his conjunction is
with the societies of hell.

What Will the Outcome Be?

I heard, but I did not understand.  So I asked,
"My lord, what will the outcome of all this be?"

He replied, "Go your way, Daniel,
because the words are closed up and sealed
until the time of the end.
Many will be purified,
made spotless and refined,
but the wicked will continue to be wicked.
None of the wicked will understand,
but those who are wise will understand."

(Daniel 12:8-9)

AE 1088 - The Heart & Lungs and Their Containers of the Word

AE 1088 [2]

The Divine truth is what is called holy,
but only when it is in its ultimate,
and its ultimate is the Word in the sense of the letter;
therefore the Divine truth there is holy,
and may be called a sanctuary,
and for the reason that that sense contains and encloses
all the holy things of heaven and the church.

The appearance is that the Divine truths in the heavens,
which are called spiritual and celestial,
are more holy than the Divine truths
in the sense of the letter of the Word, which are natural;
but the Divine truths in the heavens,
which are called spiritual and celestial,
are comparatively like the lungs and heart in man,
which form the chest
only when they are encompassed by ribs,
and enclosed in the pleura and diaphragm;
for without these integuments
they could not perform their vital functions,
and even unless connected with them by bonds.
The spiritual things of the Word
are like the breathing of the lungs,
its celestial things
are like the systole and diastole of the heart,
and its natural things
are like the pleura, the diaphragm, and the ribs,
with the moving fibers attached,
by which the motions are made reciprocal. 

 

Those Who Are Wise

"Those who are wise will instruct many,
though for a time they will fall by the sword
or be burned or captured or plundered.
When they fall, they will receive a little help,
and many who are not sincere will join them.
Some of the wise will stumble,
so that they may be refined, purified and made spotless
until the time of the end,
for it will still come at the appointed time.

(Daniel 11:33-35)

AE 1083 - What We Read, What the Angels Understand

AE 1083 [2-8]

As there is a trine, one within another,
in every least particular of the Word,
and this trine is like that of effect, cause, and end,
it follows that there are three senses in the Word,
one within another,
namely, the natural, the spiritual, and the celestial;
the natural for the world,
the spiritual for the heavens of the Lord's spiritual kingdom,
and the celestial for the heavens of His celestial kingdom.
Now as there is one sense within another,
the first which is the sense of the letter for the natural world,
the second which is the internal sense
for the spiritual kingdom,
and the third which is the inmost for the celestial kingdom,
it follows that the natural man draws from it his sense,
the spiritual angel his sense,
and the celestial angel his sense,
thus everyone what is analogous to and in agreement with
his own essence and nature.
This takes place whenever a man who is led by the Lord
is reading the Word.

But let this be illustrated by examples.
When this commandment of the Decalogue is read:
"Thou shalt honor thy father and thy mother,"
a man in the world understands by "father and mother"
a father and mother on the earth,
and also all who are or may be in the place
of father or mother;
and by "honoring" he understands to hold such in honor.
But an angel of the spiritual kingdom understands
by "father" the Divine good,
and by "mother" the Divine truth,
and by "honoring" loving;
while an angel of the celestial kingdom understands
by "father" the Lord,
and by "mother" heaven and the church,
and by "honoring" doing.

When the fifth commandment of the Decalogue,
"Thou shalt not steal," is read,
by "stealing" a man understands stealing, defrauding,
and taking away under any pretense his neighbor's goods.
But an angel of the spiritual kingdom
by "stealing" understands
depriving another of his truths and goods
by means of falsities and evils,
while an angel of the celestial kingdom by "not to steal"
understands not to attribute to himself
the things that are the Lord's,
as the good of love and the truth of faith;
for thereby good becomes not good,
and truth not truth,
because they are from men.

When the sixth commandment,
"Thou shalt not commit adultery," is read,
a man by "committing adultery"
understands committing adultery and whoredom,
also thinking filthy thoughts, speaking lasciviously,
and doing obscene things.
But an angel of the spiritual kingdom
by "committing adultery" understands
falsifying the truths of the Word and adulterating its goods,
while an angel of the celestial kingdom
by "committing adultery" understands
blaspheming against the Lord, heaven, and the church.

When the seventh commandment
"Thou shalt not kill," is read,
by "killing" a man understands hating and desiring revenge,
even to murder.
But an angel of the spiritual kingdom
by "killing" understands the killing of a man's soul
by stumbling blocks to the life and by reasonings,
whereby a man is led into spiritual death,
while an angel of the celestial kingdom
by "killing" understands seducing a man into believing
that there is no God and no heaven and no hell,
for thus man perishes as to eternal life.

When the eighth commandment,
"Thou shalt not bear false witness," is read,
a man by "false witness" understands lying and defamation.
But an angel of the spiritual kingdom
by "false witness" understands asserting, confirming,
and persuading that falsity is truth and evil is good,
or on the other hand that truth is falsity and good is evil,
while an angel of the celestial kingdom
by "false witness" understands
every falsity against the Lord,
and against heaven in favor of hell.

All this makes clear how a man draws
and calls forth from the Word in the letter the natural sense,
a spiritual angel the spiritual sense,
and a celestial angel the celestial sense,
much as the wood of a tree draws its sap,
the leaf its sap,
and the fruit its sap,
from the same soil.
And what is wonderful, this is done instantly,
without the angel's knowing what the man thinks,
or the man what the angel thinks,
and yet their thoughts are one by correspondences,
as end, cause, and effect are one.
Moreover, ends are actually in the celestial kingdom,
causes in the spiritual kingdom,
and effects in the natural world.

Nebuchadnezzar Learns

Immediately what had been said
about Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilled.
He was driven away from people
and ate grass like cattle.
His body was drenched with the dew of heaven
until his hair grew like the feathers of an eagle
and his nails like the claws of a bird.

At the end of that time, I Nebuchadnezzar,
raised my eyes toward heaven,
and my sanity was restored.
Then I praised the Most High;
I honored and glorified Him who lives forever.

His dominion is an eternal dominion;
his kingdom endures from generation to generation.
All the peoples of the earth are regarded as nothing.
He does as He pleases with the powers of heaven
and the peoples of the earth.
No one can hold back His hand or say to Him:
"What have you done?"

At that same time that my sanity was restored,
my honor and splendor were returned to me
for the glory of my kingdom.
My advisers and nobles sought me out,
and I was restored to my throne
and became even greater than before.
Now I, Nebuchadnezzar,
praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven,
because everything He does is right
and all His ways are just.
And those who walk in pride
He is able to humble.

(Daniel 4:33-37)

Nebuchadnezzar's Dream Revealed to Daniel

During the night 
the mystery was reveled to Daniel in a vision.
Then Daniel praised the God of heaven and said:

"Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever;
wisdom and power are His.
He changes times and seasons;
he sets up kings and deposes them.
He gives wisdom to the wise
and knowledge to the discerning.2:
He reveals deep and hidden things;
He knows what lies in darkness,
and light dwells with Him.
I thank and praise You, O God of my fathers:
You have given me wisdom and power,
You have made known to me what we asked of You,
You have made known to us the dream of the king."

(Daniel 2:19-23)

AE 1067 - a warning; AE 1069 - two truths

AE 1067

. . . the Word in general is invalidated,
and even blasphemed,
by the claim that it allowable to change it
according to the state of the church.


AE 1069

. . . the Lord has authority over heaven and earth,
and the Word alone is holy and Divine;
for these two truths
make the church itself of the Lord on earth,
for the church is a church from this:
-- that the Lord is adored
-- and that the Word is read.

For the Lord reforms man,
and the Word teaches how man must live
that he may be reformed by the Lord;
therefore if these two truths
are not acknowledged and received
the church itself perishes,
for upon these two truths
the church is founded.

The River From the Temple

The man brought me back to the entrance of the temple,
and I saw water coming out
from under the threshold of the temple 
toward the east (for the temple faced east).
The water was coming down
from under the south side of the temple,
south of the altar.
He then brought me out through the north gate
and led me around the outside to the outer gate facing east,
and the water was flowing from the south side.

Fruit trees of all kinds will grow on both banks of the river.
Their leaves will not wither,
nor will their fruit fail.
Every month they will bear,
because the water from the sanctuary flows to them.
Their fruit will serve for food
and their leaves for healing.

(Ezekiel 47:1-2, 12)

* * * * * *

AE 1072 [2, 3]

The Word is like a garden,
that may be called a heavenly paradise,
in which are dainties and delightful things of every kind,
dainties from the fruits,
and delightful things from the flowers;
and in the middle of it trees of life,
and near them fountains of living water,
and round about trees of the forest,
and near them rivers.

[3] Again, the Word is like fruit
within which there is a nutritious pulp,
and in the middle of it seed vessels,
in which inmostly is a living germ
that germinates in good soil.
Again, the Word is also like a most beautiful infant,
which, except the face,
is enveloped in wrappings upon wrappings;
the infant itself is in the inmost heaven,
the wrappings are in the lower heavens,
and the general covering of the wrappings is on the earth.
As the Word is such
it is holy and Divine from inmosts to the externals.
 

AE 1064 - Joking About the Word

AE 1064 [3]

Fifth Kind of Profanation

This kind is not like the others that have been treated of,
for it consists in jesting from the Word and about the Word.
For those who make jokes from the Word
do not regard it as holy,
and those who joke about it hold it in no esteem.
And yet
the Word is the very Divine truth of the Lord with men,
and the Lord is present in the Word, and heaven also;
for every particular of the Word communicates with heaven,
and through heaven with the Lord;
therefore to jest from the Word and about the Word
is to bespatter the holy things of heaven
with the dust of the earth.
  
 

Stop!

"'This is what the Sovereign Lord says:
You have gone far enough, O princes of Israel!
Give up your violence and oppression
and do what is just and right.
Stop dispossessing my people,
declares the Sovereign Lord.'"

(Ezekiel 45:9)

AE 1058 - In Order to Be Saved

AE 1058 [3]   

. . . man, in order to be saved and admitted into heaven
must look to the Lord and pray to Him.

The Lord Warns Again

"I will display My glory among the nations,
and all the nations will see the punishment I inflict
and the hand I lay upon them.
From that day forward
the house of Israel will know
that I am the Lord their God.
And the nations will know
that the people of Israel went into exile for their sin,
because they were unfaithful to me.
So I hid My face from them
and handed them over to their enemies,
and they all fell by the sword.
I dealt with them
according to their uncleanness and their offenses,
and I hid My face from them."

(Ezekiel 39:21-24)

(also posted on May 7, 2016)

AE 1053 - Dominion

AE 1053 [2, 3]

The Divine order is that heaven and the church,
and consequently the holy things of these,
be the end,
and domination the means for promoting that end.
For when holy things are the end
and domination the means,
the Lord is worshiped and adored;
but when domination is the end
and holy things the means,
instead of the Lord
man is worshiped and adored. 

The Lord Will Show Himself Holy

"'I will sprinkle clean water on you,
and you will be clean;
I will cleanse you from all your impurities
and from all your idols.
I will give you a new heart
and put a new spirit in you;
I will remove from you your heart of stone
and give you a heart of flesh.
And I will put My Spirit in you
and move you to follow My decrees
and be careful to keep My laws.

(Ezekiel 36:25-27)

AE 1044 - Pearls

AE 1044 [3, 5]

That "pearls" signify the knowledges of good and truth
can be seen from the following passages.

The kingdom of the heavens
is like unto a merchant seeking beautiful pearls,
who, when he had found one precious pearl,
going away sold all that he had and bought it.
(Matthew 13:45-46)

"The kingdom of the heavens" means
both heaven and the church;
the "merchant" means
those who acquire for themselves the goods and truths
through which heaven and the church come;
"pearls" signify the knowledges of good and truth,
for these are the truths of the natural man;
"the one precious pearl" means
the knowledge respecting the Lord and His Divine;
"going away he sold all that he had and bought it"
signifies to reject what is one's own [proprium]
in order to receive life from the Lord.

The merchants of the earth
shall weep and wail over Babylon,
for no one buys their merchandise any more,
merchandise of gold and silver,
and of precious stone and pearl.
(Revelation 18:11-12)

The twelve gates of the wall of the New Jerusalem
were twelve pearls;
each one of the gates was one pearl.
(Revelation 21:21)

As "the gates to the New Jerusalem"
signify such things of doctrine from the Word
as introduce man into the church,
and these are
the knowledges of truth and good from the Word,
so the gates were seen to be "of pearls."

The Shepherds Over the Sheep

The word of the Lord came to me:
"Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel;
prophesy and say to them:
'This is what the Sovereign Lord says:
Woe to the shepherds of Israel
who only take care of themselves!
Should not shepherds take care of the flock?
You eat the curds, clothe yourselves with the wool
and slaughter the choice animals,
but you do not take care of the flock.
You have not strengthened the weak
or healed the sick or bound up the injured.
You have not brought back the strays
or searched for the lost.
You have ruled them harshly and brutally.

"'Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord:
As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord,
because My flock lacks a shepherd
and so has been plundered
and has become food for all the wild animals,
and because My shepherds did not search for My flock
but cared for themselves rather than My flock,
therefore, O shepherds, hear the word of the Lord:
This is what the Sovereign Lord says:
I am against the shepherds
and will hold them accountable for My flock.
I will remove them from tending the flock
so that the shepherds can no longer feed themselves.
I will rescue My flock from their mouths,
and it will no longer be food for them.

"'For this is what the Sovereign Lord says:
I Myself will search for My sheep and look after them.
. . . They will live in safety,
and no one will make them afraid.
I will provide for them a land renowned for its crops,
and they will no longer be victims of famine in the land
or bear the scorn of the nations.
Then they will know that I, the Lord their God, am with them
and that they, the house of Israel, are My people,
declares the Sovereign Lord.
You are My sheep, the sheep of My pasture,
are people, and I am your God,
declares the Sovereign Lord.'"

(Ezekiel 34:1-4, 7-11, 28-31)

AE 1037 - A Religious Persuasion

AE 1037

. . . a church in which there is no longer any good or truth
is not a church,
it is called a religious persuasion.

Those Who Traded With Tyre

"'Tarshish did business with you
because of your great wealth of goods;
they exchanged silver, iron, tin and lead for your merchandise.

"'Greece, Tubal and Meshech traded with you;
they exchanged slaves and articles of bronze for your wares.

""Men of Beth Togarmah exchanged
work horses, war horses and mules for your merchandise.

"'The men of Rhodes traded with you,
and many isles were your customers;
they paid you with ivory tusks and ebony.

"'Aram did business with you because of your many products;
they exchanged turquoise, purple fabric, embroidered work,
fine linen, coral and rubies for your merchandise.

"'Judah and Israel traded with you;
they exchanged wheat from Minnith
and confections, honey, oil and balm for your wares.

"'Damascus, because of your many products
and great wealth of goods, did business with you
in wine from Helbon and wool from Zahar.

"'Danites and Greeks from Uzal bought your merchandise;
they exchanged wrought iron,
cassia and calamus for your wares.

"'Dedan traded in saddle blankets with you.

"Arabia and all the princes of Kedar were your customers;
they did business with you in lambs, rams and goats.

"'The merchants of Sheba and Raamah traded with you;
for your merchandise they exchanged the finest
of all kinds of spices and precious stones, and gold.

"'Haran, Canneh and Eden and merchants of Sheba,
Asshur and Kilmad traded with you.
In your marketplace they traded with you
beautiful garments, blue fabric, embroidered work
and multicolored rugs with cords twisted and tightly knotted.'"

"'By your great skill in trading
you have increased your wealth,
and because of your wealth
your heart has grown proud.'"

(Ezekiel 27:12-24; 28:5)
 

AE 1029 - More on Babylon; AE 1032 - Looking to the Lord

AE 1029 [13, 14, 18]

. . . to those in hell
nothing is more delightful
than to be able to draw one down from heaven
and destroy him by falsities of evil.

. . .  in general "Babel" or "Babylon" means the church
in which all the goods of love have been destroyed
and finally profaned,
and "Chaldea" the church
in which all the truths of faith are destroyed
and finally profaned;
. . . "Sodom" also signifying the destruction of all good
by the love of self,
and "Gomorrah" the destruction of all truth therefrom.

It is to be known in general
that every church in its beginning is like a virgin,
but in process of time it becomes a harlot.
For it enters gradually into a life of evil
and thus embraces a doctrine of falsity,
as gradually it begins to love self and the world;
and then from being a church
it becomes either Babylon or Philistia,
Babylon with those who love self above all things,
and Philistia with those who love the world above all things.
For as these two loves increase,
the men of the church adulterate and falsify
the goods and truths of the Word,
which is from being a virgin to become a harlot.

AE 1032 [2]

Man is either led from heaven or he is led from hell;
he cannot be led by both at the same time;
and he is led from heaven when he is led by the Lord,
and from hell when he is led by self.
For man was so created
as to be capable of being raised above
what is his own [proprium]
and of thinking in that elevated state.
He is raised above what is his own [proprium]
and thinks in that elevated state
when he is raised up by the Lord;
and this is effected when he acknowledges the Lord
and His Divine power over heaven and earth;
and by that confession and faith of the heart
he has conjunction with the Lord;
and when conjunction is effected,
the interiors, which belong to his mind,
that is, to his understanding and will,
are held by the Lord under his view.
This is effected by an elevation above
what is his own  [proprium];
and when man thinks in that elevated state
he thinks truth from the Lord
and does good from Him. 

The Lord Will Take Action

"'I the Lord have spoken.
The time has come for Me to act.
I will not hold back;
I will not have pity,
nor will I relent.
You will be judged
according to your conduct and your actions,
declares the Sovereign Lord.'"

(Ezekiel 24:14)

AE 1029 - Babylon

AE 1029

"Babylon" (or Babel) means the church consisting of those
who by means of the holy things of the church
strive to gain dominion over the whole world,
and this by dominion over the souls of men,
claiming to themselves authority to save
whomsoever they will;
and these finally seek dominion over heaven and hell
and make it their own.
And to this end
they draw and transfer to themselves
all the Lord's authority,
as if it had been given them by Him.

The church consisting of such
is very different in the beginning
from what it becomes in process of time.
In the beginning
they are as it were in zeal for the Lord,
for the Word, for love and faith,
and especially for the salvation of men.
But in that zeal the fire of domineering lies hidden;
and in process of time
as dominion increases
this breaks forth;
and so far as it comes into act
the holy things of the church become the means,
and dominion itself the end;
and when dominion becomes the end
the holy things of the church are applied to that end,
and thus to themselves;
and then they not only ascribe
the salvation of souls to their own authority,
but they also appropriate to themselves
all the Lord's Divine power.
And when they do this
they pervert every good and every truth of the church,
and thus profane the holy things of the church.
These things are "Babylon."

I Gave to Them But They Rejected My Laws

"'I gave them My decrees and made known to them My laws,
for the man who obeys them will live by them.
Also I gave them My Sabbaths as a sign between us,
so they would know 
that I the Lord made them Holy.

"'Yet the people of Israel rebelled against Me in the desert.
They did not follow My decrees but rejected My laws --
although the man who obeys them will live by them --
and they utterly desecrated My Sabbaths.'"

(Ezekiel 20:11-13)

AE 1028 - Sin Against One Commandment

AE 1028 [2, 4]

It is said by some that he who sins
against one commandment of the Decalogue
sins also against the rest . . ..

But the opposite is true of those who abstain
from the evil forbidden in one commandment,
and who shun and afterwards turn away from it
as a sin against God.
Because such fear God,
they come into communion with the angels of heaven,
and are led by the Lord to abstain
from the evils forbidden in the other commandments
and to shun them,
and finally to turn away from them as sins;
and if perchance they have sinned against them,
yet they repent
and thus by degrees are withdrawn from them. 

Repent! Do Not Sin!

"Therefore, O house of Israel, I will judge you,
each one according to his ways,
declares the Sovereign Lord.
Repent!
Turn away form all your offenses;
then sin will not be your downfall.
Rid yourselves of all the offenses you have committed,
and get a new heart and a new spirit.
Why will you die, O house of Israel?
For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone,
declares the Sovereign Lord.
Repent and live!"

(Ezekiel 18:30-32)

AE 1016, 1017 - Hatred and the Works of Charity

AE 1016 [2], 1017

. . . every man is born into the love of self and of the world,
and in consequence conceives hatred,
and from it is inflamed against all
who do not make one with him and favor his love,
especially against those who oppose his lusts.
For no one can love himself above all things
and love the Lord at the same time;
neither can anyone love the world above all things
and love the neighbor at the same time;
since no one can serve two masters at the same time
without despising and hating the one
while he honors and loves the other.
Hatred is especially with those
who are in the love of ruling over all;
with others it is enmity. 

When a man abstains from hatred
and turns away from it and shuns it as diabolical,
then love, charity, mercy and clemency
flow in through heaven from the Lord,
and then first the works which he does
are works of love and charity.
The works he had done before,
however good might be their appearance
in the external form,
were all works of the love of self and of the world,
in which hatred lurked whenever they were not rewarded.
So long as hatred is not put away
so long man is merely natural;
and the merely natural man remains in all his inherited evil,
nor can he become spiritual before hatred,
with its root,
which is the love of ruling over all,
is removed;
for the fire of heaven, which is spiritual love,
cannot flow in so long as the fire of hell,
which is hatred,
stands in the way and shuts it out. 

 

The Lord Has Ezekiel Symbolize the Exile

The word of the Lord came to me:
"Son of man, you are living among a rebellious people.
They have eyes to see but do not see
and ears to hear but do not hear,
for they are a rebellious people.

"Therefore, son of man,
pack your belongings for exile
and in the daytime, as they watch,
set out and go from where you are to another place.
Perhaps they will understand,
though they are a rebellious house.
During the daytime, while they watch,
bring out your belongings packed for exile.
Then in the evening, while they are watching,
go out like those who go into exile.
While they watch, dig through the wall
and take your belongings out through it.
Put them on your shoulders as they are watching
and carry them out at dusk.
Cover your face so that you cannot see the land,
for I have made you a sign to the house of Israel."

So I did as I was commanded.
During the day I brought out my things packed for exile.
Then in the evening
I dug through the wall with my hands.
I took my belongings out at dusk,
carrying them on my shoulders
while they watched.

In the morning the word of the Lord came to me:
"Son of man, did not that rebellious house of Israel ask you,
'What are you doing?'

"Say to them, 'This is that the Sovereign Lord says:
This oracle concerns the prince in Jerusalem
and the whole house of Israel who are there.'
Say to them, 'I am a sign to you.'

"As I have done,
so it will be done to them.
They will go into exile as captives."

(Ezekiel 12:1-11)
 

AE 1007, 1008 - garments

AE 1007, 1008

And keeps his garments,
(Revelation 16:15)

signifies who live according to His Divine truths.
This is evident from the signification of "garments,"
as being truths covering good;
therefore "to keep the garments"
signifies to live according to truths,
here according to the Lord's Divine truths in the Word.

That he may not walk naked,
(Revelation 16:15)

signifies that he may not be without truths,
and thus without goods.
This is evident from the signification of "naked,"
as meaning to be without truth,
and thus without good;
for those who are without truths are also without goods,
since all good is acquired by means of truths;
and moreover,
good without truth is not good,
and truth without good is not truth  . . .

. . . "to walk" signifies to be and to live . . ..

The Man in Linen

Then I heard Him call out in a loud voice,
"Bring the guards of the city here,
each with a weapon in his hand."
And I saw six men coming 
from the direction of the upper gate,
which faces north,
each with a deadly weapon in his hand.
With them was a man clothed in linen
who had a writing kit at his side.
They came in and stood beside the bronze altar.

Now the glory of the God of Israel
went up from above the cherubim,
where it had been,
and moved to the threshold of the temple.
Then the Lord called to the man clothed in linen
who had the writing kit at his side and said to him,
"Go throughout the city of Jerusalem
and put a mark on the foreheads of those
who grieve and lament
over all the detestable things that are done in it."

Then the Man in linen with the writing kit at his side
brought back word, saying,
"I have done as you commanded."

I looked, and I saw the likeness
of a throne of sapphire above the expanse
that was over the heads of the cherubim.
The Lord said to the man clothed in linen,
"Go in among the wheels beneath the cherubim.
Fill your hands 
with burning coals from among the cherubim
and scatter them over the city."
and as I watched, he went in.

Now the cherubim were standing
on the south side of the temple when the man went in,
and a cloud filled the inner court.
Then the glory of the Lord rose from above the cherubim
and moved to threshold of the temple.
The cloud filled the temple,
and the court was full of the glory of the Lord.
The sound of the wings of the cherubim
could be heard as far away as the outer court,
like the voice of God Almighty when He speaks.

When the Lord commanded the man in linen,
"Take fire from among the wheels,
from among the cherubim,"
the man went in and stood beside a wheel.
Then one of the cherubim
reached out his hand to the fire that was among them.
He took up some of it
and put it into the hands of the man in linen,
who took it and went out.
(Under the wings of the cherubim could be seen
what looked like the hands of a man.)

(Ezekiel 9:1-4, 11; 10:1-8)

AE 1001, 1004 - angels have their beauty from conjugial love

AE 1001, 1004 [4]

From conjugial love angels have all their beauty;
thus each angel has beauty in the measure of that love.
For all angels are forms of their affections;
for the reason that it is not permitted in heaven
to counterfeit with the face
things that do not belong to one's affection;
consequently their faces are types of their minds.
When, therefore, they have
conjugial love, love to the Lord, mutual love,
love of good and love of truth, and love of wisdom,
these loves in them give form to their faces,
and show themselves like vital fires in their eyes;
to which innocence and peace add themselves,
which complete their beauty.
Such are the forms of the inmost angelic heaven;
and they are truly human forms.

. . . for all the angels of heaven are in the Lord
and the Lord in them.

The Lord Issues Ezekiel a Dire Warning

He then said to me:
"Son of man, I will cut off the supply of food in Jerusalem.
The people will eat rationed food in anxiety
and drink rationed water in despair,
for food and water will be scarce.
They will be appalled at the sight of each other
and will waste away because of their sin."

"'And they will know that I am the Lord,
when their people lie slain
among their idols around their altars,
on every high hill and on all the mountaintops,
under every spreading tree and every leafy oak -
places where they offered fragrant incense to all their idols.
And I will stretch out my hand against them
and make the land a desolate waste
from the desert to Diblah - wherever they live.
Then they will know that I am the Lord.'"

(Ezekiel 4:16-17; 6:13-14)

AE 997, 998, 999 - more on conjugial love

AE 997 [4]

Since conjugial love in its first essence
is love to the Lord from the Lord,
and thus is innocence,
conjugial love is also peace,
such as the angels in the heavens have.

For as innocence is the very being [esse] of all good,
so peace is the very being [esse] of all delight from good,
consequently is the very being [esse]
of all joy between the marriage pair.

As then, all joy is of love,
and conjugial love is the fundamental love
of all the loves of heaven,
so peace itself has its seat chiefly in conjugial love.
Peace is happiness of heart and soul
arising from the conjunction of the Lord
with heaven and the church,
as well as from the conjunction of good and truth,
when all conflict and combat
of evil and falsity with good and truth has ceased . . ..
And as conjugial love descends from such conjunction
so all the delight of that love
descends and derives its essence from heavenly peace.

Moreover, this peace shines forth in the heavens
as heavenly happiness
from the faces of a marriage pair who are in that love,
and who mutually regard each other from that love.
But such heavenly happiness,
which inmostly affects the delights of loves,
and is called peace,
can be granted only to those
who can be joined together inmostly, that is,
as to their very hearts.

AE 998 [4]

Man has such and so much of intelligence and wisdom
as he has of conjugial love.
The reason is that conjugial love descends
from the love of good and truth
as an effect does from its cause,
or as the natural from its spiritual;
and from the marriage of good and truth
the angels of the three heavens
have all their intelligence and wisdom;
for intelligence and wisdom are nothing else
than the reception of light and heat
from the Lord as a sun,
that is,
the reception of Divine truth conjoined to Divine good,
and of Divine good conjoined to Divine truth;
thus it is the marriage of good and truth from the Lord.

That it is so
has been made clearly evident by angels in the heavens.
When these are separated from their consorts
they are indeed in intelligence, but not in wisdom;
but when they are with their consorts
they are also in wisdom;
and what is wonderful,
as they turn the face to their consort
they are to the same extent in a state of wisdom;
for the conjunction of truth and good
is effected in the spiritual world by looking;
and the wife there is good and the husband truth;
therefore as truth turns itself to good
so truth becomes living.

By intelligence and wisdom
ingenuity in reasoning about truths and goods is not meant,
but the faculty of seeing and understanding truths and goods,
and this faculty man has from the Lord.

AE 999 [2]

From true conjugial love
there is power and protection against the hells,
because it is against
the evils and falsities that ascend from the hells,
and for the reason
that through conjugial love
man has conjunction with the Lord,
and the Lord alone has power over all the hells;
also because through conjugial love
man has heaven and the church;
consequently as the Lord unceasingly
protects heaven and the church
from the evils and falsities that rise up from the hells,
so He protects all who are in true conjugial love
because heaven and the church is with these
and with no others.

Ezekiel Sees

I looked, and I saw a windstorm coming out of the north -
an immense cloud with flashing lightning
and surrounded by brilliant light.
The center of the fire looked like glowing metal,
and in the fire was what looked like four living creatures.
In appearance their form was that of a man,
but each of them had four faces and four wings.

Spread out above the heads of the living creatures
was what looked like an expanse,
sparkling like ice, and awesome.
Under the expanse
their wings were stretched out
one toward the other,
and each had two wings covering its body.
When the creatures moved,
I heard the sound of their wings,
like the roar of rushing waters,
like the voice of the Almighty,
like the tumult of an army.
When they stood still,
they lowered their wings.

Then there came a voice
from above the expanse over their heads
as they stood with lowered wings.
Above the expanse over their heads
was what looked like a throne of sapphire,
and high above on the throne
was a figure like that of a man.
I saw that from what appeared to be His waist up
He looked like glowing metal,
as if full of fire,
and that from there down He looked like fire;
and brilliant light surrounded Him.
Like the appearance of a rainbow
in the clouds on a rainy day,
so was the radiance around Him.

This was the appearance
of the likeness of the glory of the Lord.
When I saw it,
I feel face down,
and I heard the voice of one speaking.

(Ezekiel 1:4-6, 22-28)