AC 6414 - Gladness of Mind; AC 6422 - Hostility

AC 6414

Giving discourses of elegance. 
(Genesis 49:21)

. . . the signification of "discourses of elegance," 
as being gladness of mind; 
for all discourse proceeds from the mind, 
and when the mind is glad and cheerful, 
it speaks with elegance. 
( . . . after temptations come gladness and delight . . ..)

AC 6422

. . . he who holds any one in hatred
persecutes him with all hostility
so far as he is able . . ..

. . . those who are in falsities 
persecute the man of the spiritual church 
with all hostility.

~ The Things We Are To Do ~

"These are the things you 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 7:16-17)

AC 6391, 6410 - Motivations

AC 6391 [2]

. . . those who do goods with the sole end of reward 
cannot possibly 
know that in doing goods without any reward 
there is happiness so great 
as to be heavenly happiness itself. 
The reason of their ignorance is 
that they perceive happiness 
in the delight of the love of self, 
and insofar as a man perceives delight in this love, 
so far he does not perceive delight in heavenly love, 
for they are opposites. 
The delight which flows from the love of self 
completely extinguishes the delight 
which is from heavenly love, 
insomuch that it is absolutely unknown 
what heavenly delight is; 
and if its nature is told 
it is not believed, indeed, it is denied.

AC 6410

The delight from good 

and the pleasantness from truth 
which cause blessedness in heaven, 
do not consist in idleness, 
but in activity; 
for in idleness 
delight and pleasantness become 
undelight and unpleasantness; 
but in activity delight and pleasantness 
are permanent and constantly uplift, 
and cause blessedness. 
With those who are in heaven, 
activity consists in the performance of uses

(which to them is delight from good),

and in relishing truths with the end of uses

(which to them is pleasantness from truth).

~ Clean Garments for the High Priest ~

Then he showed me Joshua the high priest
standing before the angel of the Lord,
and Satan standing at his right side to accuse him.
The Lord said to Satan,
"The Lord rebuke you, Satan!
The Lord, who has chosen Jerusalem, rebuke you!
Is not this man a burning stick snatched from the fire?

Now Joshua was dressed in filthy clothes

as he stood before the angel.

The angel said to those who were standing before him,

"Take off his filthy clothes."

Then he said to Joshua,
"See, I have taken away your sin,
and I will put rich garments on you."

Then I said, "Put a clean turban on his head."
So they put a clean turban on his head 
and clothed him,

while the angel of the Lord stood by.

The angel of the Lord gave this charge to Joshua:
"This is what the Lord Almighty says:

'If you will walk in My ways
and keep My requirements,
then you will govern My house

and have charge of My courts,

and I will give you a place among these standing here.

"'Listen, O high priest Joshua 

and your associates seated before you,
who are men symbolic of things to come:
I am going to bring My servant, the Branch.
See, the stone I have set in front of Joshua!
There are seven eyes on that one stone,
and I will engrave an inscription on it,"

says the Lord Almighty,

'and I will remove the sin of this land in a single day.

"'In that day each of you will invite his neighbor
to sit under his vine and fig tree,'
declares the Lord Almighty."

(Zechariah 3)

AC 6377 - Love to the Neighbor

AC 6377 [3]

That "wine" signifies love toward the neighbor

and the good of faith, is plain also from Isaiah:

Everyone that thirsteth,

come ye to the waters,

and he that hath no silver;

come ye, buy and eat;

yea come, buy wine and milk

without silver and without price.

(Isaiah 55:1)

Everyone must know

that they were not to buy wine and milk,

but that which is signified by wine and milk,

that is, love toward the neighbor and faith;

these are given by the Lord

without silver and without price.

~ The Lord Your God ~

The Lord your God is with you,

He is mighty to save.

He will take great delight in you,

He will quiet you with His love,

He will rejoice over you with singing.

(Zephaniah 3:17)

AC 6359 - Evil and Falsity Are Hard

AC 6359

. . . the falsity which has been confirmed 
even to persuasion, is hard. 
. . . among spirits and among the angels 
truth from good appears 
and is presented to view as soft, 
but falsity from evil as hard, 
and this in proportion as the falsity from evil 
is more confirmed. 
When persuasion has been brought about 
by means of confirmation from many things, 
this hardness appears there 
like the hardness of bone. 
Such hardness is also like the hardness in this world, 
in that it reflects the rays of light. 
Thus when the light of heaven from the Lord 
falls upon the hardness produced by falsity from evil, 
it is reflected; 
but on the other hand, 
when the light of heaven from the Lord 
falls upon the softness 
produced by truth from good, 
it is received.

~Habakkuk’s Complaint and the Lord’s Answer ~

How long, O Lord, must I call for help,

but You do not listen?Or cry out to You, “Violence!”but You do not save?Why do You tolerate wrong?Destruction and violence are before me;There is strife, and conflict abounds.Therefore the law is paralyzed,And justice never prevails.the wicked hem in the righteous,so that justice is perverted.
and be utterly amazed.
For I am going to do something in your days
that you would not believe;
even if you were told.”

“Look at the nations and watch --

(Habakkuk 1:2-5)

AC 6333, 6343 - The Word

AC 6333 [3-4]

The Word is given in order to

unite heaven and earth, or angels with men;

and therefore it has been so written

that it may be spiritually apprehended by the angels,

when naturally understood by man,

and that in this way

what is holy may flow in through the angels,

by which means union is effected.

Such is the Word

in both the historical and the prophetical parts;

but the internal sense is less apparent

in the historical than in the prophetical parts,

because the historical parts

have been written in a different style,

yet still by means of significatives.

The historical parts have been given

in order that infants and children

may thereby be initiated into the reading of the Word;

for the historical parts are delightful,

and rest in their minds,

whereby communication is given them with the heavens;

and this communication is grateful,

because they are in a state

of innocence and mutual charity.

This is the reason why there is an historical Word.

There is a prophetical Word,

because when it is read,

it is not understood by man except obscurely,

and when it is understood obscurely

by such men as there are now,

it is perceived clearly by the angels . . ..

AC 6343 [2]

That the Word is holy,

and in its interiors most holy,

is very evident from that fact

that in every detail of the Word

there is the heavenly marriage,

that is, the marriage of good and truth, thus heaven;

and that in every detail of the inmost sense

there is the marriage of

the Lord's Divine Human with His kingdom and church;

indeed, in the supreme sense

there is the union of

the Divine Itself and the Divine Human in the Lord.

These most holy things

are in every detail of the Word --

a manifest proof 

that the Word has descended from the Divine.

~ The Lord Is Good ~

The Lord is good,

a refuge in times of trouble.

He cares for those who trust in Him . . ..

AC 6313 - Coming into the Light; AC 6325 - Being in Freedom, Being in Peace

AC 6313

When a man is being elevated toward interior things,
he comes out of the gross sensuous light
into a milder light,
and at the same time is withdrawn
from the influx of scandalous and filthy things,
and is brought nearer to the things
that belong to what is just and fair,
because nearer to the angels who are with him,
thus nearer to the light of heaven.
This elevation from sensuous things
was known to the ancients, even to the Gentiles,
and therefore when the lower mind
is withdrawn from sensuous things,
their wise men said that it comes into interior light,
and at the same time into a tranquil state,
and into a kind of heavenly bliss;
and from this they also concluded
that the mind is immortal.
Man is capable of being elevated still more interiorly,
and the more interiorly he is elevated,
the clearer is the light into which he comes;
and at last he comes into the light of heaven,
which light is nothing else
than wisdom and intelligence from the Lord.

AC 6325

It is an eternal truth
that the Lord rules heaven and earth,
and also that no one besides the Lord lives of himself,
consequently that everything of life flows in --
the good of life from the Lord,
and the evil of life from hell.
This is the faith of the heavens.
When a man is in this faith
(and he can be in it when he is in good),
then evil cannot be fastened and appropriated to him,
because he knows that it is not from himself,
but from hell.
When a man is in this state,
he can then be gifted with peace,
for then he will trust solely in the Lord.
. . . for the man who is led by the Lord
is in freedom itself,
and thus in delight and bliss itself;
goods and truths are appropriated to him;
there is given him
an affection and desire for doing what is good,
and then nothing is more delightful to him
than to perform uses.
There is given him a perception of good,
and also a sensation of it;
and there is given him intelligence and wisdom;
and all these as his own;
for he is then a recipient of the Lord's life.

 

~ Jonah Goes to Nineveh ~

Then the word of the Lord
came to Jonah a second time:
"Go to the great city of Nineveh
and proclaim to it the message I give you."

Jonah obeyed the Word of the Lord
and went to Nineveh.
Now Nineveh was a very important city --
a visit required three days.
On the first day, Jonah started into the city.
He proclaimed:
"Forty more days and Nineveh will be overturned."
The Ninevites believed God.
They declared a fast,
and all of them,
from the greatest to the least,
put on sackcloth.

When  the news reached the king of Nineveh,
he rose from his throne,
took off his royal robes,
covered himself with sackcloth
and sat down in the dust.
Then he issued a proclamation in Nineveh:

"By the decree of the king and his nobles:

Do not let any man or beast, herd or flock,
taste anything;
do not let them eat or drink.
But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth.
Let everyone call urgently on God.
Let them give up their evil ways and their violence.
Who knows?
God may yet relent and with compassion
turn from his fierce anger
so that we will not perish."

When God saw what they did
and how they turned from their evil ways,
He had compassion and did not bring upon them
the destruction He had threatened.

(Jonah 3)

AC 6299 [2-3] - The Internal and External of the Church

Ac 6299 [2-3]

In order for an internal to be an internal of the church,
it must needs be in the external of the church,
for the external holds the place of the foundation
on which the internal stands,
and is the receptacle into which the internal flows.
Hence it is that the natural, which is external,
must needs be regenerated;
for unless it is regenerated,
the internal has neither foundation nor receptacle;
and if it has no foundation nor receptacle,
it utterly perishes.
This then is what is meant by
his own spiritual being
in the truth of the intellectual and the good of the will.

As an illustration of this matter take this example.
The very affection of charity
which a man feels within himself
as a quietude and bliss
in benefiting the neighbor
without regard to any recompense,
is the internal of the church;
but to will this good and to do it from truth,
that is,
because it has been so commanded in the Word,
is the external of the church. 

 

~ A Basket of Ripe Fruit ~

This is what the Sovereign Lord showed me:
a basket of ripe fruit.
"What do you see, Amos?" he said.

"A basket of ripe fruit," I answered.

The the Lord said to me,
"The time is ripe for My people Israel;
I will spare them no longer."

(Amos 8:1-2)

AC 6262 - Round and Round; AC 6266 - Bowing

AC 6262

. . . the external cannot be in love
toward the internal,
except by means of influx and elevation
from the internal.
For the very love which is felt in the external
is of the internal,
and because in order to the producing of any effect
every acting must have its reacting or reciprocal,
and the acting is the cause,
and the reacting is the thing caused,
therefore reaction is also of action,
as the thing caused is of the cause;
for all the force in the thing caused
is from the cause.
This is the case with reaction
in every single thing in universal nature.


AC 6266

. . . bowing is a bodily act that corresponds
to humiliation of mind;
consequently, those who adore God from the heart,
thus bow themselves.

. . . the good of the will
and the truth of the intellectual in the natural
cannot from themselves
humble themselves before the Lord,
but only from the internal by means of influx;
for without influx
through the internal into the natural,
there is nothing of will and understanding therein,
and not even anything of life;
for the internal is the intermediate through which
is life from the Lord therein.
 

~ For the Sins of Judah and Israel ~

This is what the Lord says:

"For three sins of Judah,
even for four,
I will not turn back My wrath.
Because they have rejected the law of the Lord
and have not kept His decrees,
because they have been led astray by false gods,
the gods their ancestors followed,
I will send fire upon Judah
that will consume the fortresses of Jerusalem."

This is what the Lord says:

"For three sins of Israel,
even for four,
I will not turn back My wrath.
They sell the righteous for silver,
and the needy for a pair of sandals.
They trample on the heads of the poor
as upon the dust of the ground
and deny justice to the oppressed.
Father and son use the same girl
and so profane My holy name.
They lie down beside every altar
on garments taken pledge.
In the house of their god
they drink wine taken as fines.

(Amos 2:4-8)

AC 6232 - Indefinite Is Finite from the Infinite; AC 6247 - Being Affected with Truth

AC 6232 [1-3]

. . . all things in the spiritual world
which proceed from the Infinite,
as do truths and goods,
are capable of being multiplied
and increasing indefinitely.
That is called indefinite
which cannot be defined and limited by number;
nevertheless what is indefinite
is finite relatively to what is infinite,
and so finite
that there is no ratio between the two.

That truths and goods can increase indefinitely
comes from the fact that they proceed from the Lord,
who is infinite.
That truths and goods are of this nature,
may be seen from the fact
that the universal heaven is in truth and good,
and yet no one is in exactly
the same truth and good as another.
This would still be the case if heaven
were a thousand and a thousand times greater.
The same may be seen from the fact
that the angels are being perfected to eternity,
that is, they continually grow in good and truth,
and yet cannot arrive at the grade of any perfection,
because there always remains an indefinite scope;
for truths are indefinite in number,
and each truth has an indefinite scope within it;
and so on.

This is still more evident from things in nature:
though men should increase in number indefinitely,
still no one would have the same face as another,
nor the same internal face, that is, the same mind,
and not even the same tone of voice;
from this it is plain
that there is an indefinite variety of all things,
and that there is never one thing the same as another.
This variety is still more indefinite
in the truths and goods
that belong to the spiritual world;
because one thing in the natural world
corresponds to thousands and thousands
in the spiritual world;
and therefore the more interior things are,
the more indefinite they are.

AC 6247

. . . when a person is affected with truth
for the sake of doctrine
in order that he may become intelligent,
he is also at the same time
affected with reputation and glory.
This affection cannot then but be present,
and it is also permitted as being introductory,
because the man is of such a nature.
But when he is affected with truth for the sake of life,
he then rejects glory and reputation as ends,
and embraces the good of life,
that is, charity toward the neighbor. 

~ An Invasion of Locusts ~

The word of the Lord that came to Joel son of Pethuel.

Here this, you elders;
listen, all who live in the land.
Has anything like this ever happened in your days
or in the days of your forefathers?
Tell it to your children,
and let your children tell it to their children,
and their children to the next generation.
What the locust swarm has left
the great locusts have eaten;
what the great locusts have left
the young locusts have eaten;
what the young locusts have left
other locusts have eaten.

(Joel 1:1-4)

AC 6222 - The Enlightenment of the Intellectual or Understanding

AC 6222 [3-4]

. . . for that intellectual (understanding) exists
when people read the Word,
assiduously take one statement together with another,
and by doing so 
see what they ought to believe
and what they ought to do.
Such understanding comes only to those
who receive light from the Lord,
whom the Christian world also calls 'the enlightened'.
That enlightenment does not come to any
but the kind of people
who have the desire to know truths,
not for the sake of reputation and glory
but for the sake of life and service.
That same enlightenment is received by a person
in his understanding,
for the understanding is the receiver of light.
This is clearly evident from the fact
that people who have little understanding
cannot by any means see such things from the Word
but have faith in those
who they think are the enlightened.
Furthermore it should be recognized
that those who have been regenerated
receive from the Lord an understanding
which is capable of being enlightened;
and it is the light of heaven coming from the Lord
that flows into the understanding and gives it light,
for the understanding receives its light,
its sight, and consequently its perception
from no other source.

But this intellectual (understanding),
which is called the intellectual of the church,
is more interior than the intellectual
which comes from mere memory-knowledges,
for it is a perception that the thing is so,
not from the dictate
of memory-knowledges and philosophy,
but from the dictate of the Word in its spiritual sense.
For example,
those who are in the intellectual of the church
are able clearly to perceive
that the Word everywhere teaches
that love to the Lord and charity toward the neighbor
are essentials of the church;
and that the life of a person remains after death;
and that his life is from his loves;
also that faith separate from charity is not faith;
and that faith avails nothing for eternal life
except insofar as it is joined
to the good of love to the Lord
and to the good of charity toward the neighbor;
consequently that these and faith must be
conjoined together for there to be spiritual life.
That these are truths
can be clearly perceived by those
who have the intellectual enlightened,
but not at all by those who have not this. 

~ Return to the Lord ~

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."

(Hosea 14:1-2)

AC 6195 - Means of Connection; AC 6208 - Hereditary Natural Good

AC 6195

. . . a person is conjoined either with heaven or with hell,
namely, by means of his loves;
with hell by means of the loves of self and of the world,
but with heaven
by means of the loves of the neighbor and of God.

AC 6208

There are many who enjoy an hereditary natural good,
by virtue of which they feel delight
in doing well to others,
but who have not been imbued
with principles of doing what is good,
either from the Word, the doctrine of the church,
or from their religiosity.
Thus they could not be endowed with any conscience,
for conscience does not come
from natural or hereditary good,
but from the doctrine of truth and good
and a life in accordance therewith.
When such persons come into the other life,
they marvel that they are not received into heaven,
saying that they have led a good life.
But they are told that a good life
from what is natural or hereditary
is not a good life,
but that a good life is from those things
which belong to the doctrine of good and truth
and the consequent life;
for by means of these,
men have principles impressed on them
that concern what is true and good,
and they receive conscience,
which is the plane into which heaven flows.
In order that such persons may know
that this is the case,
they are sent into various societies,
and they then suffer themselves to be led astray
into evils of every kind,
by mere reasonings and the derivative persuasions
that evils are goods and goods evils,
and in this way they are persuaded in every direction,
and are carried away like chaff
before the wind; 
for they are devoid of principles,
and also of a plane into which
the angels may operate and withdraw them from evils.

~ I Desire ~

For I desire mercy,
not sacrifice,
and acknowledgment of God
rather than burnt offerings.

(Hosea 6:6)

~ By the Tigris, Daniel Sees a Man ~ also AC 6135

On the twenty-fourth day of the first month,
as I was standing on the bank
of the great river, the Tigris,
I looked up and there before me
was a man dressed in linen,
with a belt of the finest gold around his waist.
His body was like chrysolite,
his face like lightning,
his eyes like flaming torches,
his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze,
and his voice like the sound of a multitude.

I, Daniel, was the only one who saw the vision;
the men with me did not see it,
but such terror overwhelmed them
that they fled and hid themselves.
So I was left alone,
gazing at this great vision;
I had no strength left,
my face turned deathly pale and I was helpless.
Then I heard him speaking,
and as I listened to him,
I fell into a deep sleep, my face to the ground.

A hand touched me
and set me trembling on my hands and knees.
He said, "Daniel, you who are highly esteemed,
consider carefully
the words I am about to speak to you,
and stand up,
for I have now been sent to you."
And when he said this to me,
I stood up trembling.

(Daniel 10:4-11)
__________

AC 6135 [3, 6]

That in the genuine sense
"body" is the good of love,
is very evident from the angels,
for when they become present,
love so pours out of them
that you would believe them to be nothing but love,
and this from their whole body,
which also appears bright and shining
from the light which is from the love;
for the good of love
is like a flame which emits from itself light,
which is the truth of faith thence derived.
This being the character of the angels in heaven,
what must not the Lord Himself be,
from whom the angels have everything of love,
and whose Divine Love appears as a Sun
from which the universal heaven has its light,
and all who are therein have their heavenly heat,
that is, their love, thus their life.
It is the Lord's Divine Human which so appears,
and from which all these things are.

That the Lord's "body" is the Divine good,
is evident also from these words in Daniel:

I lifted up mine eyes, and saw,
and behold, a man clothed in linen,
whose loins were girded with gold of Uphaz;
his body also was like the tarshish,
and his face as the appearance of lightning,
and his eyes as torches of fire,
and his arms and his feet
like the shining of burnished brass,
and the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude.
(Daniel 10:5, 6)

By the "gold of Uphaz with which the loins were girded,"
by the "appearance of lightning which was on his face,"
by the "torches of fire which his eyes presented,"
and by the "shining of brass
which was of his arms and his feet,"
are signified the goods of love;
that "gold" is the good of love . . . and also "fire". . .
and because "fire" so also "lightning;"
and that "brass"
is the good of love and of charity in the natural . . .
by the "tarshish," (chrysolite in the NIV translation)
 like to which the rest of the body appeared,
namely-the middle of the body
between the head and the loins,
is signified the good of charity and of faith,
for the tarshish is a flashing precious stone.

AC 6128 - What is Influx?

AC 6128

As mention is so frequently made of influx,
and perhaps few know what is meant by influx,
it is necessary to state what it is.
The nature of influx may be seen from a comparison
with such things as inflow in nature,
as from the influx of heat from the sun
into all things of the earth,
from which comes vegetative life;
and from the influx of light into the same,
from which comes what is helpful to vegetative life,
and besides is the source
of the consequent colors and beauties;
in like manner from the influx of heat
into the surface of our bodies,
and also of light into the eye;
in like manner from the influx of sound into the ear;
and so on.
From this it may be comprehended
what is the influx of life from the Lord,
who is the Sun of heaven,
from whom comes the heat which is love,
and the spiritual light which is faith.
Moreover the influx itself is plainly felt;
for heavenly heat, which is love,
causes the vital heat which is in a person;
and heavenly light, which is faith,
causes the intellectual light which is in a person;
but these are varied according to the reception.

~ Daniel's Vision of a Ram and a Goat ~

In the third year of King Belshazzar's reign,
I, Daniel, had a vision,
after the one that had already appeared to me.
In my vision I saw myself in the citadel of Susa
in the province of Elam;
in the vision I was beside the Ulai Canal.
I looked up,
and there before me was a ram with two horns,
standing beside the canal,
and the horns were long.
One of the horns was longer than the other
but grew up later.
I watched the ram as he charged
toward the west and the north and the south.
No animal could stand against him,
and none could rescue him from his power.
He did as he pleased and became great.

As I was thinking about this,
suddenly a goat
with a prominent horn between his eyes
came from the west,
crossing the whole earth without touching the ground.
He came toward the two-horned ram
I had seen standing beside the canal
and charged at him in great rage.
I saw him attack the ram furiously,
striking the ram and shattering his two horns.
The ram was powerless to stand against him;
the goat knocked him to the ground
and trampled on him,
and none could rescue the ram from his power.
The goat became very great,
but at the height of his power
his large horn was broken off,
and in its place four prominent horns grew up
toward the four winds of heaven.

Out of one of them came another horn,
which started small
but grew in power to the south and to the east
and toward the Beautiful Land.
It grew until it reached the host of the heavens,
and it threw some of the starry host
down to the earth
and trampled on them.
It set itself up to be as great as the Prince of the host;
it took away the daily sacrifice from him,
and the place of his sanctuary was brought low.
Because of rebellion,
the host of the saints and a daily sacrifice
were given over to it.
It prospered in everything it did,
and truth was thrown to the ground.

Then I heard a holy one speaking,
and another holy one said to him,
"How long will it take for the vision to be fulfilled --
the vision concerning the daily sacrifice,
the rebellion that causes desolation,
and the surrender of the sanctuary
and of the host that will be trampled underfoot?"

He said to me,
"It will take 2,300 evenings and mornings;
then the sanctuary will be reconsecrated."

While I, Daniel, was watching the vision
and trying to understand it,
there before me stood one who looked like a man.
And I heard a man's voice from Ulai calling,
"Gabriel, tell this man the meaning of the vision."

As he came near the place where I was standing,
I was terrified and fell prostrate.
"Son of man," he said to me,
"understand that the vision concerns the time of the end."

While he was speaking to me,
I was in a deep sleep,
with my face to the ground.
Then he touched me and raised me to my feet.

He said:  "I am going to tell you
what will happen later in the time of wrath,
because the vision concerns
the appointed time of the end.
The two-horned ram that you saw
represents the kings of Media and Persia.
The shaggy goat is the king of Greece,
and the large horn between his eyes is the first king.
The four horns that replaced the one that was broken off
represent four kingdoms that will emerge from his nation
but will not have the same power.

"In the latter part of their reign,
when rebels have become completely wicked,
a stern-faced king, a master of intrigue, will arise.
He will become very strong,
but not by his own power.
He will cause astounding devastation
and will succeed in whatever he does.
He will destroy the mighty men and the holy people.
He will cause deceit to prosper,
and he will consider himself superior.
When they feel secure,
he will destroy many
and take his stand against the Prince of princes.
Yet he will be destroyed,
but not by human power.

"The vision of the evenings and mornings
that has been given you is true.
but seal up the vision,
for it concerns the distant future."

I, Daniel, was exhausted and lay ill for several days.
Then I got up and went about the king's business.
I was appalled by the vision;
it was beyond understanding.

(Daniel 8)
 

AC 6110 - Desolation

AC 6110 [1, 3, 6]

With regard to desolation,
be it known that truths and goods
and the knowledges thereof
make the spiritual life of those who are in heaven,
for these are the celestial and spiritual foods
with which they are nourished.
These foods are given them daily by the Lord.
When it is morning with them, goods are supplied;
when it is noon, truths are supplied;
but when it is evening, goods and truths are lacking,
and this even unto twilight and the return of morning.
The angels are then kept in a state of appetite,
which is of such a nature
that they long for these things
more than those who are hungry on earth long for food.

Wherefore in the other life
those who are in desolation
are soon afterward refreshed,
and attain their desires.
By means of such alternations are all made perfect.
It is worthy of note
that the alternations of the day in the natural world --
morning, midday, evening, night, and again morning --
perfectly represent the alternations in the spiritual world,
with only this difference:
that the alternations of the spiritual world
flow into the understanding and the will,
and sustain those things which are of the life;
while the alternations in the natural world
flow into those things which are of the body,
and sustain them.

Yet be it known that in heaven there is no night,
but only evening,
which is succeeded by the twilight
that precedes the morning.
But in hell there is night.

~ King Nebuchadnezzar Made an Image of Gold~

King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold,
sixty cubits high and six cubits wide,
and set it up on the plain of Dura
in the province of Babylon.
He then summoned the satraps, prefects, governors,
advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates
and all the other provincial officials
to come to the dedication of the image he had set up.
So the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers,
treasurers, judges, magistrates
and all the other provincial officials
assembled for the dedication of the image
that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up,
and they stood before it.
 
Then the herald loudly proclaimed,
“Nations and peoples of every language,
this is what you are commanded to do:
As soon as you hear the sound of the horn, flute,
zither, lyre, harp, pipe and all kinds of music,
you must fall down and worship the image of gold
that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up.
Whoever does not fall down and worship
will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace.”

Therefore, as soon as they heard the sound
of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp and all kinds of music,
all the nations and peoples of every language
fell down and worshiped the image of gold
that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

At this time some astrologers came forward
and denounced the Jews.
They said to King Nebuchadnezzar,
“May the king live forever!
Your Majesty has issued a decree
that everyone who hears the sound of the horn, flute,
zither, lyre, harp, pipe and all kinds of music
must fall down and worship the image of gold,
and that whoever does not fall down and worship
will be thrown into a blazing furnace.
But there are some Jews whom you have set over
the affairs of the province of Babylon —
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego —
who pay no attention to you, Your Majesty.
They neither serve your gods
nor worship the image of gold you have set up.”

Furious with rage, Nebuchadnezzar summoned
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.
So these men were brought before the king,
and Nebuchadnezzar said to them,
“Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego,
that you do not serve my gods
or worship the image of gold I have set up?
Now when you hear the sound of the horn, flute,
zither, lyre, harp, pipe and all kinds of music,
if you are ready to fall down
and worship the image I made, very good.
But if you do not worship it,
you will be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace.
Then what god will be able to rescue you from my hand?”

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him,
“King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need
to defend ourselves before you in this matter.
If we are thrown into the blazing furnace,
the God we serve is able to deliver us from it,
and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand.
But even if He does not,
we want you to know, Your Majesty,
that we will not serve your gods
or worship the image of gold you have set up.”

Then Nebuchadnezzar was furious
with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego,
and his attitude toward them changed.
He ordered the furnace heated
seven times hotter than usual and commanded
some of the strongest soldiers in his army
to tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego
and throw them into the blazing furnace.
So these men, wearing their robes,
trousers, turbans and other clothes,
were bound and thrown into the blazing furnace.
The king’s command was so urgent
and the furnace so hot
that the flames of the fire killed the soldiers
who took up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego,
and these three men, firmly tied,
fell into the blazing furnace.

Then King Nebuchadnezzar
leaped to his feet in amazement
and asked his advisers, “Weren’t there three men
that we tied up and threw into the fire?”

They replied, “Certainly, Your Majesty.”

He said, “Look! I see four men walking around in the fire,
unbound and unharmed,
and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.”

Nebuchadnezzar then approached the opening
of the blazing furnace and shouted,
“Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego,
servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!”

So Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego
came out of the fire,
and the satraps, prefects, governors and royal advisers
crowded around them.
They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies,
nor was a hair of their heads singed;
their robes were not scorched,
and there was no smell of fire on them.

Then Nebuchadnezzar said,
“Praise be to the God
of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego,
who has sent his angel and rescued his servants!
They trusted in Him and defied the king’s command
and were willing to give up their lives
rather than serve or worship any god
except their own God.
Therefore I decree that the people
of any nation or language
who say anything against the God
of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego
be cut into pieces
and their houses be turned into piles of rubble,
for no other god can save in this way.”

Then the king promoted
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego
in the province of Babylon.



(Daniel 3)

AC 6078 - Memory-knowledges; AC 6089 - General Truth

AC 6078

That memory-knowledges and truths
sustain the soul of a person is very evident
from man's longing to know things,
and also from the correspondence
of food with memory-knowledges,
which correspondence also shows itself in a person
when he is partaking of food,
for if this is done while he is speaking and listening,
the vessels which receive the chyle are opened,
and he is more fully nourished than if he is alone.
Spiritual truths and instructions in them
would have the same effect with people
if they were in the affection of good.
That truths nourish the spiritual life
is especially manifest with good spirits
and with the angels in heaven,
for both good spirits and angels
have a constant longing to know things and to be wise;
and when they lack this spiritual food they feel desolate,
their life is languid, and they are hungry;
and they are not restored
and raised into the bliss of their life
until their longing is satisfied.
But in order that memory-knowledges
may yield healthful nourishment to the soul,
there must be in them life from the goods of truth.
If there is no life from this source,
the memory-knowledges do indeed
sustain the person's interior life,
but only his natural life, and not his spiritual life.

AC 6089

. . . general truth is insinuated with a person first of all.
This is afterward enriched with particular truths,
and lastly there comes forth the view of them
from the internal, that is,
there come forth reason and understanding.
This is very clear in the case of a person,
for his judgment increases from infancy.
It is the same with spiritual truths and goods,
when a person is being born anew,
or is being regenerated.
But after the internal has come forth 
from general truth in the natural,
the state is changed,
and the internal no longer acknowledges truth 
in the natural as father, but as servant.

~ If the Prince Makes a Gift ~

"'This is what the Sovereign Lord says:
If the prince makes a gift
from his inheritance to one of his sons,
it will also belong to his descendants;
it is to be their property by inheritance.
If, however, he makes a gift
from his inheritance to one of his servants,
the servant may keep it until the year of freedom;
then it will revert to the prince.
His inheritance belongs to his sons only;
it is theirs.
The prince must not take
any of the inheritance of the people,
driving them off their property.
He is to give his sons their inheritance
out of his own property,
so that none of My people
will be separated from his property.'"

(Ezekiel 46:16-18)

AC 6057 - The Formation of the External and Internal Person; AC 6071 - God's Working; AC 6073 - Works and Uses

AC 6057 [2]

And just as the external man has been formed
according to the image of all things of the world,
so has the internal man been formed
according to the image of all things of heaven,
that is, according to the image of
the celestial and spiritual things
which proceed from the Lord
and from which and in which is heaven.
The celestial things there are all those
which are of love to the Lord
and of charity toward the neighbor;
and the spiritual things there are all those of faith,
which in themselves are so many and of such a nature
that the tongue cannot possibly utter
one millionth part of them.

. . . as the internal man has been created to be an angel,
he is a heaven in the least form.

AC 6071 [3]

. . . nothing but good comes from God,
for in so far as a person suffers it,
God bends evil into good.

AC 6073

What are your works?
(Genesis 47:3)

That this signifies about services and uses,
is evident from the signification of "works,"
as being goods, thus services and uses,
for these are goods.
All the goods which are called goods of charity
are nothing but uses,
and uses are nothing but works for the neighbor,
for our country, for the church, for the Lord's kingdom.
Moreover regarded in itself
charity itself does not become charity
until it comes into act and becomes work.
For to love anyone,
and not do him good when we have the power,
is not to love him;
but to do him good when we have the power,
and to do it from our hearts,
this is to love him;
and then all things of charity toward him
are contained within the very deed or work;
for a man's works are the complex
of all things of his charity and faith,
and are what are called spiritual goods,
and indeed become goods by exercise,
that is, by means of uses.

~ Division of the Land ~

"'When you allot the land as an inheritance,
you are to present to the Lord
a portion of the land as a sacred district,
25,000 cubits long and 20,000 cubits wide;
the entire area will be holy.
Of this, a section 500 cubits square
is to be for the sanctuary,
with 50 cubits around it for open land.
In the sacred district, measure off a section
25,000 cubits long and 10,000 cubits wide.
In it will be the sanctuary, the Most Holy Place.
It will be the sacred portion of the land for the priests,
who minister in the sanctuary
and who draw near to minister before the Lord.
It will be a place for their houses
as well as a holy place for the sanctuary.
An area 25,000 cubits long and 10,000 cubits wide
will belong to the Levites, who serve in the Temple,
as their possession for towns to live in.

"'You are to give the city as its property
an area 5,000 cubits wide and 25,000 cubits long,
adjoining the sacred portion;
it will belong to the whole house of Israel.

"'The prince will have the land bordering each side
of the area formed by the sacred district
and the property of the city.
It will extend westward from the west side
and eastward from the east side,
running lengthwise
from the western to the eastern border
parallel to one of the tribal portions.
This land will be his possession in Israel.
And My princes will no longer oppress My people
but will allow the house of Israel
to possess the land according to their tribes.'"

(Ezekiel 45:1-8)

AC 6032 - "Seeing"

AC 6032

In regard to "seeing" as denoting to understand
and consequently to perceive and also to have faith,
be it known that there are two things with man
which make his life, namely,
Spiritual Light and Spiritual Heat.
Spiritual light makes the life of his understanding,
and spiritual heat the life of his will.
Spiritual light is from its first origin
Divine truth from the Divine good of the Lord,
and hence is the truth of faith from the good of charity.
And spiritual heat is from its first origin
the Divine good of the Divine love of the Lord,
and hence is the good of celestial love,
which is love to the Lord,
and the good of spiritual love,
which is love toward the neighbor.
These two, as before said,
constitute the whole life of man. 

~ The Carvings in the Temple ~

The outer sanctuary, the inner sanctuary,
and the portico facing the court,
as well as the thresholds and the narrow windows
and galleries around the three of them --
everything beyond and including the threshold
was covered with wood.
The floor, the wall up to the windows,
and the windows were covered.
In the space above
the outside of the entrance to the inner sanctuary
and on the walls at regular intervals
all around the inner and outer sanctuary
were carved cherubim and palm trees.
Palm trees alternated with cherubim.
Each cherub had two faces:
the face of a man toward the palm tree on one side
and the face of a lion toward the palm tree on the other.
They were all around the whole temple.
From the floor to the area above the entrance,
cherubim and palm trees were carved
on the wall of the outer sanctuary.

(Ezekiel 41:15.5-20)

AC 6013 - Natural Truth and Innocence and Charity

AC 6013

. . . without innocence and charity,
natural truth cannot be caused to advance
by spiritual truths;
for in order that truth may be genuine,
it must derive its essence and life from charity,
and charity from innocence.
For the interior things which vivify truth
succeed one another in the following order:
inmost is innocence;
next lower is charity;
and lowest is work of charity
from truth or according to truth.
The reason why they succeed one another in this order
 is that they so succeed one another in the heavens.
For the inmost or third heaven
is the heaven of innocence;
the middle or second heaven
is the heaven of charity,
within which is innocence from the inmost heaven;
and the ultimate or first heaven
is the heaven of truth,
within which is charity from the second heaven,
and within this is innocence from the third.
All these must be in the same order with man,
in respect to his interiors
man is formed after the image of the three heavens;
and therefore a regenerated man
is a heaven in particular or in the least form.

~ A Watchman ~

The word of the Lord came to me:
"Son of man, speak to your countrymen and say to them:
'When I bring the sword against a land,
and the people of the land choose one of their men
and make him their watchman,
and he sees the sword coming against the land
and blows the trumpet to warn the people,
then if anyone hears the trumpet
but does not take warning
and the sword comes and takes his life,
his blood will be on his own head.
Since he heard the sound of the trumpet
but did not take warning,
his blood will be on his own head.
If he had taken warning,
he would have saved himself.
But if the watchman sees the sword coming
and does not blow the trumpet to warn the people
and the sword comes and takes the life of one of them,
that man will be taken away because of his sin,
but I will hold the watchman accountable for his blood."

(Ezekiel 33:1)

AC 6007 - Interior Elevation; AC 6008 - When A Person Dies

AC 6007

To be elevated toward things more interior
is to think more interiorly,
and at last as a spirit and as an angel;
for the more interiorly thought proceeds,
the more perfect it is,
because it is nearer
the influx of truth and good from the Lord.

AC 6008

For when a person dies,
he does not die,
but only lays aside the body
which had served him for use in the world,
and he passes into the other life
in a body which serves him for use there. 

~ Prophecy Against Egypt ~

In the tenth year,
in the tenth month on the twelfth day,
the word of the Lord came to me:
"Son of man,
set your face against Pharaoh king of Egypt
and prophesy against him and against all Egypt."

(Ezekiel 29:1)

AC 5948 - Viewing Ends; AC 5992 - Angels Protect

AC 5948 [2]

 Thus if memory-knowledge is regarded as the end,
and truths are not cared for,
truths at last so vanish away
that it cannot be perceived whether there are any truths.
Also if truths are regarded as the end,
and good is not cared for,
good at last so vanishes as not to be.
Furthermore, with those who have
earthly, or bodily, or worldly things as the end,
so that these are their only care,
and not heavenly things,
heavenly things so vanish away
that at last scarcely anything heavenly is acknowledged.
These and similar things are what are signified by
"let not your eye be sparing upon your stuff."
(Genesis 45:20)

AC 5992 [1, 3]

Infernal spirits continually attack,
and the angels protect;
such is the order.

. . . angels from the Lord lead and protect a man,
and this every moment, and every moment of a moment;
for if the angels were to intermit their care
for a single moment,
the man would be precipitated into evil
from which he could never afterward be brought out.
These things the angels do
from the love they have from the Lord,
for they perceive nothing more delightful and happy
than to remove evils from a man,
and lead him to heaven.

~ "You Will Never Be Found Again" ~

"I will make you a bare rock,
and you will become a place to spread fishnets.
You will never be rebuilt,
for I the Lord have spoken,
declares the Sovereign Lord.

(Ezekiel 26:14)

AC 5946 - "For Your Babes, and for Your Women"

AC 5946

For your babes, and for your women.
(Genesis 45:19)

. . . when "men" [viri] signify truths,
as here the sons of Jacob,
then their "women" signify the affections of truth;
and on the other hand
when "men" [viri] signify goods,
their "women" signify truths,
but in this case the men are called "husbands".
Neither do the affections of truth,
which here are the "women,"
know the more interior things of the church,
except by means of truths, which are the "men."
Affections without these
are like the will without what is of the understanding.
The will, in order to see or know anything,
must do it through the understanding:
there is its sight or eye.
  

~ I Found No One ~

"I looked for a man among them
who would build up the wall
and stand before Me in the gap
on behalf of the land
so I would not have to destroy it,
but I found no one."

(Ezekiel 22:30)

AC 5912 - Spiritual Good; AC 5922 - Glory; AC 5928 - Blood and Blood Vessels

AC 5912

. . . when good is in the first place,
and has dominion,
it continually produces truths.
It multiplies them around itself
and also around each truth,
and makes each truth like a little star,
in the center of which there is a bright light.
Nor does good only multiply truths around itself,
but it also produces truths from truths
by derivations in succession,
which are the "sons' sons," or grandsons; and so on.

AC 5922 [3]

Glory" in the supreme sense
is the Lord as to Divine truth,
thus it is the Divine truth which proceeds from the Lord.
But "glory" in the representative sense
is the good of love toward the neighbor, or charity,
which is the external good of the celestial kingdom
and the internal good of the spiritual kingdom of the Lord,
for this good in a genuine sense
is the Divine truth in heaven.

AC 5928

. . .  truths do not act from themselves,
but from the good which flows into the good
attached by itself to the truths.
The case herein is like the blood vessels in a living body.
Truths are as it were the vessels without the blood;
but good is as it were the blood;
when this pours itself into the vessels
which before were empty, it sets them in motion,
and also in reciprocal motion,
for they have received from the blood
a capacity of moving,
and as it were life.
From all this it is evident how the case is
with the conjunction of good with truths,
and with the reciprocal conjunction of truths with good.

~ Are My Ways Unjust? ~

"Yet you say, 'The way of the Lord is not just.'
Hear, O house of Israel:
Is My way unjust?
Is it not your ways that are unjust?
If a righteous man turns from his righteousness
and commits sin,
he will die for it
because of the sin he has committed
he will die.
But if a wicked man turns away
from the wickedness he has committed
and does what is just and right,
he will save his life.
Because he considers all the offenses he has committed
and turns away from them,
he will surely live; he will not die.
Yet the way of the Lord is not just.'
Are My ways unjust?
Is it not your ways that are unjust?"

(Ezekiel 18:25-29)

AC 5893 - Working Together

AC 5893 [2]

There must be truths in the natural mind
in order that good may work,
and the truths must be introduced
by means of the affection which is of genuine love.
All things whatever that are in man's memory
have been introduced by means of some love,
and remain there conjoined with it.
So also it is with the truths of faith --
if these truths have been introduced
by means of the love of truth,
they remain conjoined with this love.
When they have been conjoined,
then the case is as follows.
If the affection is reproduced,
the truths which are conjoined with it
come forth at the same time;
and if the truths are reproduced,
the affection itself
with which they have been conjoined
comes forth at the same time.
Wherefore during man's regeneration
(which is effected in adult age,
because previously he does not think from himself
about the truths of faith)
he is ruled by means of angels from the Lord,
by being kept in the truths
which he has impressed upon himself to be truths,
and by means of these truths
in the affection with which they have been conjoined;
and as this affection, namely, of truth,
is from good,
he is thus led by degrees to good.

~ A Useless Vine ~

The word of the Lord came to me:
"Son of man, how is the wood of a vine better
than that of a branch on any of the trees in the forest?
Is wood ever taken from it to make anything useful?
Do they make pegs from it to hang things on?
And after it is thrown on the fire as fuel
and the fire burns both ends and chars the middle,
is it then useful for anything?
If it was not useful for anything when it was whole,
how much less can it be made into something useful
when the fire has burned it and it is charred?"

(Ezekiel 15:1-5)