AC 8914 - Thunderings and Lightnings; AC 8925 "The Fear of God"

AC 8914

By truths Divine from good are here meant
all the commandments of the Decalogue,
which were pronounced from Mount Sinai
out of the midst of thunderings and lightnings;
these being then displayed
because the thunderings signified truths Divine,
which are also for this reason called "voices;"
and the lightnings signified the brightnesses
which truths have from good,
which are also for this reason called "torches" or flames.

AC 8925

As regards the holy fear
which is signified in the Word by "the fear of God,"
be it known that this fear is love . . ..
Such fear is insinuated into love
during man's regeneration.
As this fear is in agreement with love,
and can be within
and actually is within or united to love,
it is for this reason called holy fear,
and is the fear of sinning
or doing contrary to the commandments,
thus contrary to the Lord.
But this fear differs with everyone
according to the quality and amount of the love.

 

~ "When You Cross the Jordan" ~

On the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho
the Lord said to Moses,
"Speak to the Israelites and say to them:
'When you cross the Jordan into Canaan,
drive out all the inhabitants of the land before you.
Destroy all their carved images and their cast idols,
and demolish all their high places.
Take possession of the land and settle in it,
for I have given you the land to possess.
Distribute the land by lot, according to your clans.
To a larger group give a larger inheritance,
and to a smaller group a smaller one.
Whatever falls to them by lot will be theirs.
Distribute it according to your ancestral tribes.

"'But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land,
those you allow to remain
will become barbs in your eyes
and thorns in your sides.
They will give you trouble in the land where you will live.
And then I will do to you
what I plan to do to them.'"

(Numbers 33:50-56)

AC 8906

Thou shalt not steal.
(Exodus 20:13)

That this signifies that no one's spiritual goods
must be taken away from him,
and that those things which belong to the Lord
are not to be attributed to self,
is evident from the signification of "stealing,"
as being to take away spiritual goods from anyone.
That this is signified by "stealing,"
is because riches and wealth in the spiritual sense
are the knowledges of good and truth,
in general all those things which are of faith and charity,
that is, which are of spiritual life in man.
Wherefore to take these things away from anyone
is "to steal" in the spiritual sense.
And because all spiritual goods,
that is, all things of faith and charity,
are from the Lord alone,
and absolutely nothing from man,
therefore by "stealing" is also signified
to attribute to oneself what belongs to the Lord.

AC 8908
Thou shalt not answer against thy neighbor
the witness of a lie.
(Exodus 20:13)

That this signifies that good is not to be called evil,
nor truth falsity; thus conversely,
neither is evil to be called good, nor falsity truth,
is evident from the signification of "the witness of a lie,"
as being the confirmation of falsity.
"To answer against a neighbor"
denotes to speak in such manner against anyone;
for by "neighbor" is signified every man,
and specifically everyone who is in good,
and in the abstract sense, good itself.
Consequently
"thou shalt not answer against thy neighbor
the witness of a lie,"
in the internal sense denotes
not to say to anyone what is false,
that is, to say that what is good is evil,
and what is true is false, or the converse.

AC 8910

Thou shall not covet thy neighbor's house,
thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife,
and his manservant, and his maidservant,
and his ox, and his ass,
and anything that is thy neighbor's.
(Exodus 20:14)

That this signifies that one must beware
of the love of self and of the world,
lest the evils which are
contained in the preceding commandments
become of the will and so come forth,
is evident from the signification of "coveting",
as being to will from an evil love.
That "coveting" has this signification,
is because all concupiscence is of some love;
for nothing is coveted unless it is loved,
and therefore concupiscence [or "coveting"]
is the continuous of love,
in this case of the love of self or of the world . . ..
Love itself belongs to the other part of the mind,
which is called the will,
for whatever a man loves he wills;
but concupiscence belongs
to both the will and the understanding,
though it is properly of the will in the understanding.
From all this it is evident what it is that by the words,
"thou shalt not covet the things that are thy neighbor's,"
is signified that one must beware
lest they become of the will;
for the things which become of the will
are appropriated to the man,
because the will is the man himself.

AC 8912

It must also be explained briefly
what is meant in the internal sense
by the things here mentioned, namely,
"house," "wife," "manservant," "maidservant,"
"ox," and "ass," which are not to be coveted.
They are all the goods and truths of faith in one complex,
which are not to be taken away from anyone,
and to which no injury is to be done;
and they are the same things which in the internal sense
are signified by "keeping the Sabbath day holy,"
"honoring father and mother," "not killing,"
"not committing adultery," "not stealing,"
"not bearing false witness,"
all which things have been shown above
to be in the internal sense
such as are of love and faith.
By "house" is meant all good in general;
by "wife," all truth in general;
by "manservant," the affection of spiritual truth;
by "maidservant," the affection of spiritual good;
by "ox," the affection of natural good;
and by "ass," the affection of natural truth.
These are the things which are "not to be coveted,"
that is, which are not to be taken away from anyone,
or to which harm must not be done.

~ After the War With Midian ~

The Lord said to Moses,
"Take vengeance on the Midianites for the Israelites.
After that, you will be gathered to your people."

They fought against Midian,
as the Lord commanded Moses,
and killed every man.

Then the officers who were over the units of the army --
the commanders of thousands
and commanders of hundreds --
went to Moses and said to him,
"Your servants have counted
the soldiers under our command,
and no one is missing.
So we have brought as an offering to the Lord
the gold articles each of us acquired --
armlets, bracelets, signet rings,
earrings and necklaces --
to make atonement for ourselves before the Lord."

Moses and Eleazar the priest
accepted from them the gold --
all the crafted articles.
All the gold from the commanders of thousands
and commanders of hundreds
that Moses and Eleazar presented as a gift to the Lord
weighed 16,750 shekels.
Each soldier had take plunder for himself.
Moses and Eleazar the priest accepted the gold
from the commanders of thousands
and commanders of hundreds
and brought it into the Tent of Meeting
as a memorial for the Israelites before the Lord.

(Numbers31:1, 7,48-54)

AC 8904 - Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery

AC 8904 [1,2]

Thou shalt not commit adultery.
(Exodus 20:13)

That this signifies that those things
which are of the doctrine of faith and of charity
are not to be perverted,
thus that the Word is not to be applied
to confirm falsities and evils,
also that the laws of order are not to be upset . . ..

The reason, which at this day is a secret one,
is that conjugial love descends from
the marriage of good and truth,
which is called "the heavenly marriage."
The love which flows in from the Lord
and which exists between good and truth in heaven,
is turned into conjugial love on the earth,
and this by correspondence.
 Hence it is that the falsification of truth is "whoredom,"
and the perversion of good is "adulteration,"
in the internal sense.
Hence also it is
that they who are not in the good and truth of faith
cannot be in genuine conjugial love;
and also that those
who find the delight of life in adulteries
can no longer receive anything of faith.
I have heard it said by the angels
that as soon as anyone commits adultery on the earth
and takes delight in it,
heaven is closed to him,
that is, he refuses any longer to receive from heaven
anything of faith and charity.
That at this day in the kingdoms where the church is,
adulteries are made light of by very many persons,
is because the church is at its end,
and thus there is no longer any faith,
because there is no charity;
for the one corresponds to the other.
Where there is no faith,
falsity is in the place of truth,
and evil is in the place of good,
and from this there flows the result
that adulteries are no longer accounted as criminal;
for when heaven is closed with a man,
such things flow in from hell.

~ The Seventh Month ~

 The Feast of Trumpets
"'On the first day of the seventh month
hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work.
It is a day for you to sound the trumpets.'"

Day  of Atonement
"' On the tenth day of this seventh month
hold a sacred assembly.
You must deny yourselves and do no work.'"

Feast of Tabernacles
"'On the fifteenth day of the seventh month,
hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work.
Celebrate a festival to the Lord for seven days.'"

(Numbers 29:1, 7, 12)
 

AC 8896, 8897 - Honor Thy Father and Thy Mother; AC 8901, 8902 - Thou Shalt Not Kill

AC 8896, 8897

Honor thy father and thy mother,
that thy days may be prolonged upon the land
which Jehovah thy God giveth thee.
(Exodus 20:12)

"Honor thy father and thy mother,"
signifies love for good and truth,
in the supreme sense for the Lord and for His kingdom;
"that thy days may be prolonged upon the land,"
signifies the consequent state of life in heaven;
"which Jehovah thy God giveth thee,"
signifies where the Divine is and the consequent influx.

. . . in the spiritual sense "to honor" denotes to love,
for the reason that in heaven one loves another,
and when he loves he also honors,
for in honor there is love.

AC 8901, 8902

Thous shalt not kill.
(Exodus 20:13)

signifies not to take away spiritual life from anyone,
also not to extinguish faith and charity,
as also not to hold the neighbor in hatred.

. . . The reason why "not to kill"
is also in the internal sense
not to hold the neighbor in hatred,
is that he who holds in hatred
continually wishes to kill,
and also would kill in act
unless prevented by the fear of the penalty,
of the loss of life, of reputation, and the like.
For hatred is of evil, is contrary to charity,
and breathes nothing
but the murder of him whom it hates:
in the world the murder of his body;
in the other life the murder of his soul.

~ Joshua Is to Succeed Moses ~

Moses said to the Lord,
"May the Lord, the God of the spirits of all mankind,
appoint a man over this community
to go out and come in before them,
one who will lead them out and bring them in,
so the Lord's people
will not be like sheep without a shepherd.

So the Lord said to Moses,
"Take Joshua son of Nun,
a man in whom is the spirit,
and lay your hand on him.
Have him stand before Eleazar the priest
and the entire assembly
and commission him in their presence.
Give him some of your authority
so that whole Israelite community will obey him.
He is to stand before Eleazar the priest,
who will obtain decisions for him
by inquiring of the Urim before the Lord.
At his command
he and the entire community of the Israelites will go out,
and at his command they will come in."

Moses did as the Lord commanded him.
He took Joshua and had him stand
before Eleazar the priest and the whole assembly.
Then he laid his hands on him
and commissioned him,
as the Lord instructed through Moses.

(Numbers 27:15-23)
 

AC 8882 - Taking the Lord's Name in Vain; AC 8884, AC 8889, AC 8891 - Remember the Sabbath Day

AC 8882

Thou shalt not take
the name of Jehovah thy God in vain.
(Exodus 20:7)

That this signifies profanations and blasphemings
of the truth and good of faith,
is evident from the signification of "the name of God,"
as being all in the complex
by which the Lord is worshiped,
thus all the truth and good of faith;
and from the signification of "taking in vain,"
as being to profane and blaspheme.
By "taking the name of God in vain"
is properly signified to turn truth into evil,
that is, to believe that it is truth,
and nevertheless to live in evil;
and it also denotes to turn good into falsity,
that is, to live holily, and yet not to believe.
Both are profanation,
for believing is of the understanding,
and living is of the will;
and therefore in those
who believe otherwise than they live,
the thought and will are divided.

AC 8884

Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.
Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work.
And the seventh day
is the Sabbath to Jehovah thy God;
thou shalt not do any work, thou,
and thy son, and thy daughter,
thy manservant, and thy maidservant,
and thy beast, and thy sojourner who is in thy gates.
For in six days Jehovah made heaven and earth,
the sea, and all that is in them,
and rested in the seventh day;
wherefore Jehovah blessed the Sabbath day
and hallowed it. 
(Exodus 20:8-11)

"Remember," signifies what is perpetual in the thought;
"the Sabbath day,"
-- signifies in the supreme sense
the union of the Divine Itself
and the Divine Human of the Lord,
in the internal sense the conjunction
of the Divine Human with the heavens, thus heaven,
and so the marriage of good and truth there;
"to keep it holy,"
-- signifies no violation in any manner;
"Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work,"
-- signifies the combat
which precedes and prepares for this marriage;
"and the seventh day
is the Sabbath to Jehovah thy God,"
-- signifies good implanted and thus the marriage;
"thou shalt not do any work, thou,
and thy son, and thy daughter,
thy manservant, and thy maidservant,
and thy beast, and thy sojourner who is in thy gates,"
-- signifies that in this case
heaven and blessedness are in each and all things
in the internal and in the external of man;
"for in six days
Jehovah made heaven and earth, the sea,"
-- signifies the regeneration and vivification
of those things
which are in the internal and in the external man;
"and all that is in them,"
-- signifies of all things therein;
"and rested in the seventh day,"
-- signifies that then
there are peace and the good of love;
"wherefore Jehovah blessed the Sabbath day,"
signifies that then is the heavenly marriage
from the Lord;
"and hallowed it,"
-- signifies that it cannot in any wise be violated.

AC 8889

. . .  the good with man is not spiritual good
until it has been formed by truths;
and when it has been so formed,
there is then the heavenly marriage;
for this is the conjunction of good and truth,
and is heaven itself with a person.

AC 8891

. . . the signification of "six days,"
as being states of combat,
and when predicated of Jehovah, that is, the Lord,
they signify His labor with a person
before he is regenerated . . ..

~ The Lord Commands a Second Census ~

After the plague the Lord said to
Moses and Eleazar son of Aaron, the priest,
"Take a census
of the whole Israelite community by families --
all those twenty years old or more
who are able to serve in the army of Israel."
So on the plains of Moab
by the Jordan across from Jericho,
Moses and Eleazar the priest spoke with them and said,
"Take a census of the men twenty years old or more,
as the Lord commanded Moses."

The total number of the men of Israel was 601,730.

All the male Levites a month old or more
numbered 23,000.
They were not counted along with the other Israelites
because they received no inheritance among them.

These are the ones counted
by Moses and Eleazar the priest
when they counted the Israelites
on the plains of Moab
by the Jordan across from Jericho.
Not one of them was among those counted
by Moses and Aaron the priest
when they counted the Israelites in the Desert of Sinai.
For the Lord had told those Israelites
they would surely die in the desert,
and not one of them was left
except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun.

(Numbers 26:1-4, 51, 62-65)

AC 8863 - The First Commandment; AC 8868 - Truths Alive or Not Alive

AC 8863

I am Jehovah thy God,
who brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt,
out of the house of servants.
Thou shalt have no other gods before My faces.
Thou shalt not make unto thee a graven image,
nor any likeness of that which is in the heavens above,
or that which is in the earth beneath,
or that which is in the waters under the earth;
thou shalt not bow down thyself to them,
nor serve them;
for I Jehovah thy God am a zealous God,
visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the sons,
upon the thirds and upon the fourths of them
that hate Me;
and doing mercy to thousands of them
that love Me and keep My commandments.
Thou shalt not take
the name of Jehovah thy God in vain;
for Jehovah will not hold him guiltless
that takes his name in vain.
(Exodus 20:2-7)

"I am Jehovah thy God,"
-- signifies the Lord as to the Divine Human
universally reigning in each and all things
of good and truth;
"who brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt,
out of the house of servants,"
-- signifies liberation by Him from hell;
"Thou shalt have no other gods before My faces,"
-- signifies that truths must not be thought of
from any other source than the Lord;
"Thou shalt not make unto thee a graven image,"
-- signifies not from self-intelligence;
"nor any likeness,"
-- signifies a semblance of those things
which are from the Divine;
"of that which is in the heavens above,
or that which is in the earth beneath,"
-- signifies of those things which are in spiritual light,
or of those which are in natural light;
"or that which is in the waters under the earth,"
-- signifies of those which are in the sensuous corporeal;
"thou shalt not bow down thyself to them,
nor serve them,"
-- signifies no Divine worship is to be paid them;
"for I Jehovah thy God,"
-- signifies the Divine from the Lord
in each and all things;
"am a zealous God,"
-- signifies that falsity and evil are therefrom;
"visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the sons,"
-- signifies the consequent prolification
of falsity derived from evil;
"upon the thirds and upon the fourths,"
-- signifies in a long series,
and the conjunction of them;
"of them that hate Me,"
-- signifies who absolutely reject the Divine of the Lord;
"and doing mercy unto thousands,"
-- signifies good and truth unto them forever;
"of them that love Me,"
-- signifies who receive the good of love;
"and keep My commandments,"
-- signifies who receive the truths of faith;
"Thou shalt not take
the name of Jehovah thy God in vain,"
-- signifies profanings and blasphemings
of the truth and good of faith;
"for Jehovah will not hold him guiltless
that takes His name in vain,"
-- signifies that these things cannot be forgiven.

AC 8868 [3]

Truths in which the Lord is
are truths which are alive,
but truths in which the Lord is not
are truths which are not alive.
Those which are alive are truths of faith
from love to the Lord
and from charity toward the neighbor.
Those which are not alive are not truths,
because within them
there are the love of self and the love of the world.

~ The Third Time Balak, King of Moab, Asks Balaam to Curse Israel ~

Then Balak said to Balaam,
"Come, let me take you to another place.
Perhaps it will please God
to let you curse them for me from there."
And Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor,
overlooking the wasteland.

Balaam said, "Build me seven altars here,
and prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me."
Balak did as Balaam had said,
and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.

Now when Balaam saw
that it pleased the Lord to bless Israel,
he did not resort to sorcery as at other times,
but turned his face toward the desert.
When Balaam looked out
and saw Israel encamped tribe by tribe,
the Spirit of God came upon him
and he uttered his oracle:

"The oracle of Balaam son of Beor,
the oracle of one whose eye sees clearly,
the oracle of one who hears the words of God,
who sees a vision from the Almighty,
who falls prostrate,
and whose eyes are opened:

"How beautiful are your tents, O Jacob,
your dwelling places, O Israel!
"Like valleys they spread out,
like gardens beside a river,
like aloes planted by the Lord,
like cedars beside the waters.
Water will flow from their buckets;
their seed will have abundant water.

"Their king will be greater than Agag;
their kingdom will be exalted.

"God brought them out of Egypt;
they have the strength of a wild ox.
They devour hostile nations
and break their bones in pieces;
with their arrows they pierce them.
Like a lion they crouch and lie down,
like a lioness -- who dares to rouse them?

"May those who bless you be blessed
and those who curse you be cursed!"

(Numbers 23:27-30; 24:1-9)
 

AC 8853, 8857 - What a Person Loves Most; AC 8859 - Exodus 20

AC 8853, AC 8857

Every man has something of his own
which he loves above all things.
This is called that which rules,
or if you will, that which reigns universally with him.
This is constantly present in his thought,
and also in his will, and makes his veriest life.

The case is the same with love to the Lord.
When this love is that which rules,
it is present in every single thing of the man's life;
as for instance with him
who loves his king, or his parent,
his love toward them shines forth in their presence
from every feature of his face,
it is heard in every expression of his speech,
and is seen in his every gesture.
This is meant by having God continually before the eyes,
and by loving Him above all things,
with all the soul and with all the heart.

AC 8859

In this chapter (Exodus 20)
the subject treated of in the internal sense
is the truths Divine
which are to be implanted in the good
with those who are of the Lord's spiritual church.
The ten commandments of the Decalogue
denote these truths.
The commandments concerning sacrifices,
and concerning the altar,
which follow in this chapter,
denote the external truths which are of worship.

~ The Israelites Travel to Moab ~

The Israelites moved on and camped at Oboth.
then they set out from Oboth
and camped in Iye Abarim,
in the desert that faces Moab toward the sunrise.
From there they moved on
and camped in the Zered Valley.
They set out from there
and camped alongside the Arnon,
which is in the desert extending into Amorite territory.
The Arnon is the border of Moab,
between Moab and the Amorites.
That is why the Book of the Wars of the Lord says:

". . . Waheb in Suphah and the ravines,
the Arnon and the slopes of the ravines
that lead to the site of Ar
and lie along the border of Moab."

From there they continued on to Beer,
the well where the Lord said to Moses,
"Gather the people together
and I will give them water."

Then Israel sand this song:

"Spring up, O well!
Sing about,
about the well that the princes dug,
that the nobles of the people sank --
the nobles with scepters and staffs."

Then they went from the desert to Mattanah,
from Mattanah to Nahaliel,
from Nahaliel to Barmoth,
and from Bamoth to the valley in Moab
where the top of Pisgah overlooks the wasteland.

(Numbers 21:10-20)

AC 8805 - Moses; AC 8815 - The Voice of a Trumpet; AC 8823 - Sound on High

AC 8805 [4]

By "MOSES" in this chapter (Exodus 19)
and in the following chapters
is represented truth from the Divine beneath heaven
conjoined with truth Divine in heaven,
and consequently mediating
between the Divine in heaven
and the good in which truths are to be implanted
which belongs to the spiritual church,
thus mediating between the Lord and the people.
It is important to know these things
for the sake of understanding
what follows in the book of Exodus.
From all this it can also be seen that by
"Moses went down from the mountain unto the people"
is signified application and preparation
by means of truth from the Divine
for receiving truths in good.

AC 8815 [2-3]

The Divine truth which passes through heaven
 is also meant by the trumpets
with which the angels sounded
(Revelation 8:2, 6-8, 12, 13; 9:14).
Truth Divine from heaven
was also represented by the seven trumpets with which
the seven priests sounded
before the ark or before Jehovah,
when the walls of the city Jericho fell (Joshua 6);
also by the trumpets with which
the three hundred men who were with Gideon
sounded round about the camp of Midian, Amalek,
and the sons of the east (Judges 7).
The reason why the trumpets produced this effect
was that they represented
the truth Divine through the heavens,
which is such that it perfects the good,
but destroys the evil;
the reason why it perfects the good
is that these receive
the Divine good which is in the truth;
but that it destroys the evil
is because these do not receive
the Divine good which is in it.
The "walls of Jericho"
signified the falsities which defended evils;
and "Midian, Amalek, and the sons of the east,"
round about whose camp
the three hundred men of Gideon sounded the trumpets,
signified those who were in evils
and in the derivative falsities.

AC 8823

. . . the signification of "the voice of the trumpet,"
as being heavenly or angelic truth
conjoined with what is Divine,
thus what is general of revelation;
for truth Divine is revelation,
and that which is manifested
through the medium of heaven
is general relatively to the truth Divine itself in heaven,
for it is without or around,
and what is around and without
is general relatively to that which is in the midst,
or which is within;
and from the signification of "going and waxing strong,"
as being the increase thereof.
For the case herein is
as it is with sound which is on high,
where the atmosphere is purer,
and the sound is silent;
but when it descends to lower regions
where the atmosphere is denser,
it becomes louder and more sonorous.
So it is with Divine truth and Divine good,
which in the highest are peaceful
and cause no disturbance whatever;
but when they descend toward lower things
they gradually become unpeaceful,
and finally tumultuous.
This is what is so described by the Lord
in the first book of the Kings
to Elijah, when he was in Horeb:

Go forth, and stand on the mountain before Jehovah;
behold Jehovah is passing by;
so that there was a great and strong wind
rending the mountains,
and breaking in pieces the rocks before Jehovah;
Jehovah was not in the wind.
Then after the wind an earthquake;
yet Jehovah was not in the earthquake.
After the earthquake a fire;
Jehovah was not in the fire.
Lastly after the fire a still small voice.
(1 Kings 19:11, 12)

~The Bronze Snake ~

They traveled from Mount Hor
along the route to the Red Sea,
to go around Edom.
But the people grew impatient on the way;
they spoke against God and against Moses, and said,
"Why have you brought us up out of Egypt
to die in the desert?
There is no bread!
There is no water!
And we detest this miserable food!"

Then the Lord sent venomous snakes among them;
they bit the people and many Israelites died.
The people came to Moses and said,
"We sinned
when we spoke against the Lord and against you.
Pray that the Lord will take the snakes away from us."
So Moses prayed for the people.

The Lord said to Moses,
"Make a snake and put it up on a pole;
anyone who is bitten can look at it and live."
So Moses made a bronze snake
and put it up on a pole.
Then when anyone was bitten by a snake
and looked a the bronze snake,
he lived.

(Numbers 21:4-9)

AC 8780 - Revelation; AC 8783 - Why the Word Is Written As It Is; AC 8793 - What Are Internal Truths - What Are External Truths; AC 8794 - Extension Into Heaven

AC 8780 [2]

By revelation here in the internal sense
is not meant revelation
such as was made to the Israelitish people
from Mount Sinai, namely,
that the Lord spoke in a loud voice,
and the people standing around heard;
but such a revelation is meant
as is not made with a loud voice,
but inwardly in man.
This revelation is made
by the enlightening of the internal sight,
which is of the understanding,
when a man who is in the affection of truth from good
is reading the Word.
This enlightening is then effected
by the light of heaven,
which is from the Lord as the sun there.
By this light the understanding is enlightened
no otherwise than is the external sight,
which is of the eye,
by the light which is from the sun of the world.
When the understanding is enlightened
by that Divine light,
it then perceives that to be true which is true,
it acknowledges it inwardly in itself,
and as it were sees it.
Such is the revelation of those
who are in the affection of truth from good
when they are reading the Word.

AC 8783

Truth Divine is not received by anyone
unless it has been accommodated to his apprehension,
consequently unless it appears
in a natural form and shape;
for at first human minds apprehend
none but earthly and worldly things,
and not at all spiritual and heavenly things.
Wherefore if spiritual and heavenly things
were set forth nakedly,
they would be rejected as if they were nothing,
according to the Lord's words in John:

If I have told you earthly things,
and you believe not,
how shall you believe,
if I told you heavenly things?
(John 3:12)

. . . The learned of the world do indeed believe
that they would receive the Word more readily
if heavenly things were set forth nakedly,
and if it were not written so simply.
But they are very much mistaken . . ..

AC 8793

The ten commandments at that time
declared from Mount Sinai are internal truths;
and the laws and statutes,
which are commanded in the following chapters,
are external truths;
by both of these are signified
the truths which are to be implanted in good.

AC 8794 [2]

No one can know except from revelation
what to understand by extension into heaven
as far as the spiritual spheres of good.
The situation is this:
Any good imparted to a person
through regeneration by the Lord
extends itself to communities in heaven.
The amount and the nature of this extension
varies with each person;
it varies in amount as it advances
towards more distant boundaries in heaven,
and in nature as it shifts
more towards the internal parts of heaven
or more towards the external parts.
The actual good residing with a person
flows in from the Lord
by way of the communities of heaven
that are round about;
good that does not flow in
by way of those communities is not possible.
The communities of heaven exist round about,
closely joined together without a break;
not a break between them appears anywhere.
It is the same with every single thing
that is connected with good
and constitutes its essential nature.
Therefore when a person is being regenerated
his enrichment in good is nothing other
than being introduced into angelic communities,
and in this way being joined to them.

 

~ The Inheritance of the Levites ~

The Lord said to Aaron,
"You will have no inheritance in their land,
nor will you have any share among them;
I am your share and your inheritance
among the Israelites.

"I give to the Levites all the tithes in Israel
as their inheritance
in return for the work they do
while serving at the Tent of Meeting.
From now on the Israelites
must not go near the Tent of Meeting,
or they will bear the consequences of their sin
and will die.
It is the Levites
who are to do the work at the Tent of Meeting
and bear the responsibility for offenses against it.
This is a lasting ordinance for the generations to come.
They will receive no inheritance among the Israelites.
Instead, I give to the Levites as their inheritance
the tithes that the Israelites present
as an offering to the Lord.
That is why I said concerning them:
'They will have no inheritance among the Israelites.'"

(Numbers 18:20-24)
 

AC 8759 - Eagles' Wings; AC 8771, 8772 - Looking to the Lord and Spiritual Life

AC 8759 (from Eoxdus 19:4)

. . . "and I bare you on eagles' wings"
signifies that by means of truths
they were raised to heavenly light;
"and brought you unto Me,"
signifies thus the good of love
which is heaven . . ..

AC 8771

Those who are in good from truth
look through truths upward to the Lord;
but those who are in good and thence in truth
are in the Lord,
and from Him look at truths.
These two states succeed each other
with those who are being regenerated,
in whom the spiritual kingdom,
that is, the life of heaven,
is being implanted by the Lord;
for through truth they are introduced into good,
thus into heaven,
because heaven is good,
and when they are in heaven,
then there and therefrom they look to truths.

AC 8772 [2]

This life, namely, spiritual life, is first acquired
by knowing the truths which are of faith,
afterward by acknowledging them,
and finally by believing them.
When they are only known,
they are as it were at the gate;
when they are acknowledged,
they are in the entrance hall;
but when they are believed,
they are in the inner chamber.
Thus they advance
from exteriors toward interiors successively.
In the interior man is good,
which is continually flowing in from the Lord,
and there conjoining itself with truths,
and making them to be faith
and afterward to be charity.
This good attracts truths to itself,
for it has a longing for them,
in order that through them
it may procure for itself a quality and thus emerge.

~ Tassels With a Blue Cord ~

The Lord said to Moses,
"Speak to the Israelites and say to them:
'Throughout the generations to come
you are to make tassels
on the corners of your garments,
with a blue cord on each tassel.
You will have these tassels to look at
and so you will remember
all the commands of the Lord,
that you may obey them
and not prostitute yourselves
by going after the lusts of your own hearts and eyes.
Then you will remember to obey all My commands
and will be consecrated to your God.
I am the Lord your God,
who brought you out of Egypt to be your God.
I am the Lord your God."

(Numbers 15:37-38)

AC 8702 - Good Is of Truth and Truth Is of Good; AC 8717 - Influx and the Care of the Lord

AC 8702

. . . good is of truth and truth is of good,
and thus these two are one;
for what good wills,
this truth confirms;
and what truth perceives as truth,
this good wills,
and both together do.
The case is similar with good and truth
as with the will and the understanding;
what the will wills and loves,
this the understanding thinks and confirms,
and vice versa.
That these two are alike is because good is of the will,
and truth is of the understanding.
In such a state are they
who are led of the Lord by means of good.

AC 8717

. . . influx does not take place from exteriors to interiors;
but from interiors to exteriors.
. . . Be it known that in the internal sense
things are set forth such as they are in themselves;
not such as they appear in the sense of the letter.

In itself the fact is
that by means of the truth proceeding from Himself
the Lord directs all things down to the veriest singulars;
not as a king in the world,
but as God in heaven and in the universe.
A king in the world exercises only a care over the whole,
and his princes and officers a particular care.
It is otherwise with God, for God sees all things,
and knows all things from eternity,
and provides all things to eternity,
and from Himself holds all things in their order.
From this it is evident
that the Lord has not only a care over the whole,
but also a particular and individual care of all things,
otherwise than as a king in the world.
His disposing is immediate
through the truth Divine from Himself,
and is also mediate through heaven.
But the mediate disposing through heaven
is also as it were immediate from Himself,
for what comes out of heaven
comes through heaven from Him.
That this is so the angels in heaven not only know,
but also perceive in themselves.

But this subject falls with difficulty
into the idea of any man,
and least of all into the idea of those
who trust in their own prudence;
for they attribute to themselves
all things that happen prosperously for them,
and the rest they ascribe to fortune, or chance;
and few to the Divine Providence.
Thus they attribute the things that happen
to dead causes, and not to the living cause.
When things turn out happily
they indeed say that it is of God,
and even that there is nothing that is not from Him;
but few, and scarcely any,
at heart believe it.
In like manner do those who place all prosperity
in worldly and bodily things,
namely, in honors and riches,
and believe that these alone are Divine blessings;
and therefore when they see
many of the evil abound in such things,
and not so much the good,
they reject from their heart
and deny the Divine Providence in individual things,
not considering that
Divine Blessing is to be happy to eternity,
and that the Lord regards such things
as are of brief duration, as relatively,
are the things of this world,
no otherwise than as means to eternal things.
Wherefore also the Lord provides for the good,
who receive His mercy in time,
such things as contribute
to the happiness of their eternal life;
riches and honors for those
to whom they are not hurtful;
and no riches and honors for those
to whom they would be hurtful.
Nevertheless to these latter He gives in time,
in the place of honors and riches,
to be glad with a few things,
and to be more content than the rich and honored.

~ "The Lord Is With Us" ~

Then Moses and Aaron fell facedown in front of
the whole Israelite assembly gathered there.
Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh,
who were among those who had explored the land,
tore their clothes
and said to the entire Israelite assembly,
"The land we passed through and explored
is exceedingly good.
If the Lord is pleased with us,
He will lead us into that land,
a land flowing with milk and honey,
and will give it to us.
Only do not rebel against the Lord.
And do not be afraid of the people of the land,
because we will swallow them up.
Their protection is gone,
but the Lord is with us.
Do not be afraid of them."

(Numbers 14:5-9)

AC 8678 - Humility

AC 8678 [2]

So far as a person can humble himself before the Lord,
and so far as he can love his neighbor as himself,
and, as in heaven, above himself,
so far he receives the Divine,
and consequently is so far in heaven.

 

~ Taberah ~

Now the people complained about their hardships
in the hearing of the Lord,
and when He heard them
His anger was aroused.
Then fire from the Lord burned among them
and consumed some of the outskirts of the camp.
When the people cried out to Moses,
he prayed to the Lord
and the fire died down.
So that place was called Taberah,
because fire from the Lord had burned among them.

(Numbers 11:1-3)

AC 8644 - Divine Good and Truth; AC 8657 - Two States; AC 8658 - "He Was Encamped at the Mount of God"

AC 8644

. . . between Divine good and Divine truth
there is this distinction --
that Divine good is in the Lord,
and Divine truth is from the Lord.

AC 8657

That there are two states
which those enter into who are being regenerated
and are becoming a spiritual church,
and that when they are in the former state
they undergo temptations . . ..
The former state is described
by the state of the sons of Israel in the wilderness,
and the latter state
by their state in the land of Canaan under Joshua.

AC 8658

. . . by "he was encamped at the mount of God,"
(Exodus 18:5)

is signified the setting in order
of the good and truth of the church
near to the good of truth.
What is meant by this shall be briefly told.
When man is in the former state,
namely, when he acts from truth and not yet from good,
that is, when he acts from faith and not yet from charity,
he is in a state of undergoing temptations.
By these he is progressively carried to the second state,
namely, that he acts from good,
that is, from charity and the affection of it.
When therefore he comes near to this state,
he is said to be "encamped at the mount of God,"
that is, at the good from which he will afterward act.
This is said because in what now follows
the subject treated of
is the new disposition or setting in order
of the truths for entering into this state,
to which the man of the church comes
after he has undergone temptations,
and before the law Divine
is inscribed on his heart.
In what precedes
the subject treated of was temptations,
and in what now follows it
is the law promulgated from Mount Sinai.
"Mount Sinai" denotes the good in which is truth.

~ Silver Trumpets and Leaving Sinai ~

The Lord said to Moses:
"Make two trumpets of hammered silver,
and use them for calling the community together
and for having the camps set out."

. . . On the twentieth day
of the second month of the second year,
the cloud lifted
from above the tabernacle of the testimony.
Then the Israelites set out from the Desert of Sinai
and traveled from place to place
until the cloud came to rest in the Desert of Paran.
They set out, this first time,
at the Lord's command through Moses.

(Numbers 10: 1-2, 11-13)

AC 8639 - Knowing the Lord

AC 8639

. . . he who does not know
that the Lord is the Savior of the human race,
cannot have faith in Him,
worship Him,
love Him,
and thus do good for His sake.
He who does not know
that all good is from Him,
cannot think that his own righteousness
and his own salvation are from Him,
still less can he will it to be so,
thus he cannot live from Him.
He who does not know that there is a hell,
and that there is a heaven,
nor that there is eternal life,
cannot even think about the life of heaven,
nor apply himself to receiving it;
and so in all other things.
  

~ Anointing the Tabernacle ~

When Moses finished setting up the tabernacle,
he anointed it and consecrated it
and all its furnishings.
He also anointed and consecrated the altar
and all its utensils.
Then the leaders of Israel, the heads of families
who were the tribal leaders in charge 
of those who were counted,
made offerings.

When Moses entered the tent of Meeting
to speak with the Lord,
he heard the Voice speaking to him
from between the two cherubim
above the atonement cover
on the ark of the Testimony.
And he spoke with Him.

(Numbers 7:1-2, 89)

AC 8593 - "And Amalek Came"

AC 8593 [1-2]

And Amalek came.
(Exodus 17:8)

. . . the signification of "Amalek,"
as being the falsity from interior evil.
Those who are in such evil
study by every method and art
to hide and hoard it
under the semblance of what is honorable and just,
and under the semblance of the love of the neighbor;
yet still they devise nothing else within themselves
than how they can inflict evil,
and so far as they can
they do inflict evil by means of others,
taking care that it should not appear to be from them;
they also color over the evil itself,
that it may not seem like evil.
The greatest delight of their life
is to meditate such things,
and to attempt them in concealment.
This is called interior evil.
Those who are in this evil are called "evil genii,"
and in the other life are completely separated
from those who are in exterior evil,
and who are called "spirits."


[2] As further concerning the falsity from this evil --
it is not like the falsity from the evil of evil spirits,
for in itself it is evil.
They who are in this evil do not attack
the truths of faith, but the goods of faith;
for they act by means of depraved affections,
whereby they pervert good thoughts,
and this in a manner almost incomprehensible.
. . . These infernal genii never attack a man openly,
nor when he is capable of vigorous resistance;
but when it appears that a man is falling so as to yield,
they are then suddenly at hand,
and push him on to a complete fall.
This too is represented by the fact that Amalek
now fell upon Israel; and also afterward,
when the sons of Israel had set themselves
in opposition to Jehovah,
and were afraid of the nations in the land of Canaan:

Then Amalek came down with the Canaanite
from the mountain,
and they smote the sons of Israel even unto Hormah.
(Numbers 14:45) 

~ Restitution ~

The Lord said to Moses,
"Say to the Israelites:
'When a man or woman wrongs another in any way
and so is unfaithful to the Lord,
that person is guilty
and must confess the sin he has committed.
He must make full restitution for his wrong,
add one fifth to it
and give it all to the person he has wronged.

(Numbers 5:5-7)

AC 8574 - The Lord

AC 8574 [3]

When the Lord was in the world
He was the Divine truth;
but since He was glorified,
which was effected when He rose again,
He is the Divine good.

It is the Divine good
which is meant in the Word
in the internal sense by "the Father,"
and the Divine truth which is meant by "the Son".

~ The Levites Who Do the Work for the Tabernacle Are Counted ~

So Moses, Aaron and the leaders of Israel
counted all the Levites by their clans and families.
All the men from thirty to fifty years of age
who came to do the work
of serving and carrying the Tent of Meeting
numbered 8,580.
At the Lord's command through Moses,
each was assigned his work and told what to carry.

Thus they were counted,
as the Lord commanded Moses.

(Numbers 4:46-49)

AC 8554-8555 - Exodus 17; AC 8557, 8562 - Temptations; AC 8559 - The Life of Heaven

AC 8554 - 8555
In the preceding chapter, in the internal sense,
the third temptation was treated of --
that there was a lack of good.
This having been given them,
in the internal sense in this chapter
the fourth temptation is treated of --
that there was a lack of truth.
This temptation is signified by
"the murmuring of the sons of Israel
because they had no water;"
and therefore the truth of faith
was given them by the Lord,
which is signified by
"the water out of the rock of Horeb."

Then follows the combat of the falsity
that is from evil against the truth and good of faith,
which combat is represented by
the fighting of Amalek against Israel.
That they who are in the truth and good of faith
conquer when they look upward to the Lord,
and that they yield when they look downward,
is represented by the sons of Israel conquering
so long as Moses kept his hands raised,
and by their yielding when he let them down.

AC 8557

That Spiritual life grows by means of temptations
is because by means of them
the truths which are of faith are confirmed,
and are conjoined with the good which is of charity.

AC 8559

The life of heaven
is to be led of the Lord by means of good.
In order that a man may come to that life,
good must be implanted by means of truth;
that is, charity by means of faith.
So long as this is being done,
the man is in the way to heaven,
but is not yet in heaven.
And in order that at that time
the truths which are of faith may be confirmed,
and may also be conjoined with good,
the man is let into temptations,
for these are the means
of the conjunction of good and truth.
When therefore the man is in good, that is,
in the affection of doing good for the sake of good,
thus for the sake of the neighbor,
he is uplifted into heaven,
for he is in the order of heaven,
and is led of the Lord by means of good.
From all this it can be seen
what is meant by "the life of heaven."

AC 8562 [2]

Temptations attack that which a man loves and longs for.

~ The Levites Are Counted ~

The Lord also said to Moses,
"I have taken the Levites from among the Israelites
from among the Israelites
in place of the first male offspring
of every Israelite woman.
The Levites are mine,
for all the first born are mine.
When I struck down all the firstborn in Egypt,
I set apart for myself every firstborn in Israel,
whether man or animal.
They are to be Mine.
I am the Lord.

The Lord said to Moses in the Desert of Sinai,
"Count the Levites by their families and clans.
Count every male a month old or more."
So Moses counted them,
as he was commanded by the word of the Lord.

The total number of Levites counted
at the Lord's command
by Moses and Aaron according to their clans,
including every male a month old or more,
was 22,000.

(Numbers 3:11-16, 38)

Various Bits to Ponder

AC 8505 [2]

Before regeneration man acts from truth,
but through it good is acquired;
for truth becomes good with him
when it becomes of his will, and thus of his life;
but after regeneration he acts from good,
and through it truths are procured.
To make this still clearer:
Before regeneration man acts from obedience;
but after regeneration from affection.

AC 8506

Six days ye shall gather it.
(Exodus 16:26)

That this signifies the reception of truth
before it is being conjoined with good,
is evident from the signification of "six days,"
as being states of combat and of labor,
here a state of the reception of truth,
or a state when good is acquired through truth,
for in this state there are labor and combat.
In this state man is let into temptations,
which are combats with the evils and falsities in him;
and then the Lord fights for the man and also with him.
But after this state
there is a state of the conjunction of good and truth,
thus at that time a state of rest for the Lord also.
This state is what was represented by
the rest on the seventh day, or day of the Sabbath.
That the Lord then has rest,
is because when good has been conjoined with truth,
the man is in the Lord,
and is led by the Lord without labor and combat.

AC 8512

And Jehovah said unto Moses.
(Exodus 16:28)

That this signifies the appearing of the Divine obscured,
is evident, from the signification of "Jehovah said,"
as involving what follows,
here that they did not keep His commandments and laws,
thus that the appearing of the Divine among them
was obscured.
For this takes place when anyone does not live
according to the Divine commandments;
because when anyone does live according to them,
he lives according to Divine order,
inasmuch as the Divine commandments
are truths and goods which are in conformity with order;
and when anyone lives according to order,
he then lives in the Lord,
because the Lord is order itself.

AC 8521 [3]

None of these can see
whether the teaching of their church is true,
except those who are in the affection of truth
for the sake of the uses of life.
Those who have this end in view
are continually enlightened by the Lord,
not only during their life in the world,
but also afterward.
These alone are they who can receive;
for the Lord leads them by means of good,
and by means of it gives them to see truth,
and thus to believe.

AC 8522

. . . whatever man wills from affection
is perceived as good.
But this good cannot arise
except through the delights
that are of the natural man.

~ "Take a Census" ~

The Lord spoke to Moses
in the tent of Meeting in the Desert of Sinai
on the first day of the second month of the second year
after the Israelites came out of Egypt.
He said:"Take a census of the whole Israelite community
by their clans and families,
listing every man by name, one by one.
You and Aaron are to number by their divisions
all the men in Israel twenty years old or more
who are able to serve in the army."

All the Israelites twenty years old or more
who were able to serve in Israel's army
were counted according to their families.
The total number was 603,550.

The families of the tribe of Levi, however,
were not counted along with the others.

(Numbers1:1-2, 45-47)

AC 8478, 8480 - Care for the Morrow and Trusting and Loving the Lord

AC 8478 [2-3, 4]

. . . he who looks at the subject no deeper
than from the sense of the letter
may believe that all care for the morrow
is to be cast aside,
and thus that the necessaries of life
are to be awaited daily from heaven;
but he who looks at the subject deeper
than from the letter,
as for instance he who looks at it
from the internal sense,
is able to know what is meant by
"care for the morrow."
It does not mean
the care of procuring for oneself food and raiment,
and even resources for the time to come;
for it is not contrary to order for anyone
to be provident for himself and his own.
But those have care for the morrow
who are not content with their lot;
who do not trust in the Divine,
but in themselves;
and who have regard for only worldly and earthly things,
and not for heavenly things.
With such there universally reigns
solicitude about things to come,
and a desire to possess all things
and to dominate over all,
which is kindled and grows
according to the additions thus made,
and finally does so beyond all measure.
They grieve if they do not obtain
the objects of their desire,
and feel anguish at the loss of them;
and they have no consolation,
because of the anger they feel against the Divine,
which they reject together with everything of faith,
and curse themselves.
Such are they who have care for the morrow. 

Very different is the case
with those who trust in the Divine.
These, notwithstanding they have care for the morrow,
still have it not,
because they do not think of the morrow with solicitude,
still less with anxiety.
Unruffled is their spirit
whether they obtain the objects of their desire, or not;
and they do not grieve over the loss of them,
being content with their lot.
If they become rich,
they do not set their hearts on riches;
if they are raised to honors,
they do not regard themselves
as more worthy than others;
if they become poor, they are not made sad;
if their circumstances are mean, they are not dejected.
They know that for those who trust in the Divine
all things advance toward a happy state to eternity,
and that whatever befalls them in time
is still conducive thereto. 

Be it known also
that insofar as anyone is in the stream of Providence,
so far he is in a state of peace;
also that insofar as anyone
is in a state of peace from the good of faith,
so far he is in the Divine Providence.
These alone know and believe
that the Divine Providence of the Lord
is in everything both in general and in particular,
indeed, is in the most minute things of all.

AC 8480 [3]

Good from the Lord is with those
who love the Lord above all things
and the neighbor as themselves;
but good from man is with those
who love themselves above all things
and despise the neighbor in comparison with themselves.
These are they who have care for the morrow,
because they trust in themselves;
but the former are they
who have no care for the morrow,
because they trust in the Lord.
Those who trust in the Lord continually
receive good from Him;
for whatsoever happens to them,
whether it appears to be prosperous or not prosperous,
is still good,
because it conduces as a means
to their eternal happiness.

~ Do Not Make Idols ~

"'Do not make idols or set up an image
or a sacred stone for yourselves,
and do not place a carved stone in your land
to bow down before it.
I am the Lord your God.

"'Observe My Sabbaths
and have reverence for My sanctuary.
I am the Lord.

"'If you follow My decrees
and are careful to obey My command,
I will send you rain in its season,
and the ground will yield its crops
and the trees of the field their fruit.
Your threshing will continue until grape harvest
and the grape harvest will continue until planting,
and you will eat all the food you want
and live in safety in your land.

"'I will grant peace in the land,
and you will lie down
and no one will make you afraid.'"

(Leviticus 26:1-6.5)
 

AC 8455 - Dew, the Truth of Peace; AC 8458 - The Good of Truth; AC 8459 - Snow and Hoarfrost

AC 8455

"Dew" signifies the truth of peace
because in the morning it comes down from heaven
and appears upon the herbage like fine rain,
and has also stored up in it
something of sweetness or delight
more than rain has,
whereby the grass and the crops of the field
are gladdened;
and "morning" denotes a state of peace.
. . . peace is . . . like dawn on the earth,
which gladdens minds with universal delight;
and the truth of peace is like the light of the dawn.
This truth, which is called "the truth of peace,"
is the very Divine truth in heaven from the Lord,
which universally affects all who are there,
and makes heaven to be heaven;
for peace has in it confidence in the Lord,
that He directs all things,
and provides all things,
and that He leads to a good end.
When a man is in this faith,
he is in peace,
for he then fears nothing,
and no solicitude about things to come disquiets him.
A man comes into this state
in proportion as he comes into love to the Lord. 

All evil, especially self-confidence,
takes away a state of peace.
It is believed that an evil person is at peace
when he is in gladness and tranquility
because all things succeed with him.
But this is not peace;
it is the delight and tranquillity of cupidities,
which counterfeit a state of peace.
But in the other life this delight,
being opposite to the delight of peace,
is turned into what is undelightful,
for this lies hidden within it.
In the other life the exteriors
are successively unfolded even to the inmosts,
and peace is the inmost in all delight,
even in what is undelightful with the man who is in good.
So far therefore as he puts off what is external,
so far a state of peace is revealed,
and so far he is affected
with satisfaction, blessedness, and happiness,
the origin of which is from the Lord Himself. 

Concerning the state of peace
which prevails in heaven
it can be said that it is such
as cannot be described by any words,
neither, so long as he is in the world,
can it come into the thought and perception of man,
by means of any idea derived from the world.
It is then above all sense.
Tranquility of mind, content, and gladness from success,
are relatively nothing;
for these affect only his externals;
whereas peace affects the inmost things of all --
the first substances,
and the beginnings of substances in the man,
and therefrom distributes and pours itself forth
into the substantiates and derivatives,
and affects them with pleasantness;
and affects the origins of ideas,
consequently the man's ends of life,
with satisfaction and happiness;
and thus makes the mind of the man a heaven.

AC 8458

. . . "the good of truth,"
is truth not only as to origin,
but also as to essence.
It is seen as truth,
but it is felt as good.

AC 8459

Snow, from being small and white,
is predicated of truth;
but hoarfrost, from its continuity,
is predicated of truth made good,
which is the good of truth.

. . . Truth is said to be consistent and flowing
in the form of good,
because truth is the form of good,
and good is the life of this form,
and is as it were its soul.

AC 8426 - Changes of States

AC 8426 [2]

. . . "in the evening" denotes the end of a former state,
is because the changes of state in the other life
are circumstanced as are the times of day in the world,
namely, morning, noon, evening, and night, or twilight,
and again morning.
Be it known that in the spiritual world
there are perpetual changes of states,
and that all who are there pass through them.
The reason is that they may be continually perfected,
for without changes of states
or without variations
continually succeeding one another in order,
they who are in the spiritual world are not perfected.
The changes of states which succeed each other
in order like the times of the day
and the times of the year,
never return quite the same, but are varied.
The beginning of every state
corresponds to morning on the earth,
and also in the Word is sometimes meant by "morning;"
but the end of every state corresponds to evening,
and is likewise sometimes called "evening" in the Word.
When it is morning they are in love;
when it is noon, they are in light or in truth;
but when it is evening they are in obscurity as to truths,
and are in the delight of natural love.
This delight is what is signified by the quail
which they received in the evening,
and the good is what is signified by the manna
which they received every morning. 

~ Feasts in the Seventh Month ~

The Lord said to Moses, "Say to the Israelites:
'On the first day of the seventh month
you are to have a day of rest,
a sacred assembly commemorated with trumpet blasts.
Do no regular work.
but present an offering made to the Lord by fire.'"

The Lord said to Moses,
"The tenth day of this seventh month
is the Day of Atonement.
Hold a sacred assembly and deny yourselves,
and present an offering made to the Lord by fire.
Do no work on that day,
because it is the Day of Atonement,
when atonement is made for you
before the Lord your God."

The Lord said to Moses, "Say to the Israelites:
'On the fifteenth day of the seventh month
the Lord's Feast of Tabernacles begins,
and it lasts for seven days.
The first day is a sacred assembly;
do no regular work.
For seven days
present offerings made to the Lord by fire,
and on the eighth day hold a sacred assembly
and present an offering made to the Lord by fire.
It is the closing assembly;
do no regular work.'"

(Leviticus 23:23-28, 33-36)
 

AC 8397 - Movements, Journeys; AC 8403, 8413 - Temptations, Regeneration, Good Changes

AC 8397

. . . movements do not signify movements,
nor journeyings, journeyings;
but changes and successions of states.

AC 8403 [2-3]

Those who have not been instructed
about man's regeneration
suppose that a man
can be regenerated without temptation;
and some that he has been regenerated
when he has undergone one temptation.
But be it known that without temptation
no one is regenerated,
and that many temptations follow on,
one after another.
The reason is that regeneration takes place to the end
that the life of the old man may die,
and the new heavenly life be insinuated,
which shows that there must needs be a fight,
for the life of the old man resists,
and is not willing to be extinguished,
and the life of the new man cannot enter
except where the life of the old man
has been extinguished.
Hence it is evident that there is a fight on both sides,
and this fight is a fiery one, because it is for life. 

He who thinks from enlightened reason
can see and perceive from this
that no man can be regenerated without a fight,
that is, without spiritual temptation;
and also that he is not regenerated by one temptation,
but by many.
For very many kinds of evil
have made the delight of his former life,
that is, have made his old life;
and it is impossible for all these evils
to be suddenly and simultaneously mastered,
because they cling to the man very firmly,
having been rooted in parents from time immemorial,
and consequently are innate in him,
besides having been confirmed in him from his infancy
through his own actual evils.
All these evils are diametrically opposite
to the heavenly good that is to be insinuated,
and that is to make the new life.


AC 8413 [2-3]

When the good of charity,
which makes the spiritual life,
is to be insinuated,
the delight of the pleasures
which had made the natural life is removed.
When this delight is removed,
the man comes into temptation,
for he believes that if he is deprived
of the delight of pleasures,
he is deprived of all life,
because his natural life consists in this delight,
or good, as he calls it.
But he does not know
that when this delight of life is removed,
spiritual delight, or good,
is insinuated by the Lord in its place.
It is this good that is signified by the "manna;"
the former good or delight being meant by
the "flesh and bread in the land of Egypt,"
and the privation of this being meant by "hunger." 

But it is to be carefully observed
that the man who is being regenerated
is not deprived of the delight
of the pleasures of the body and lower mind,
for he fully enjoys this delight after regeneration,
and more fully than before, but in inverse ratio.
Before regeneration,
the delight of pleasures was everything of his life;
but after regeneration,
the good of charity becomes everything of his life;
and then the delight of pleasures serves as a means,
and as an ultimate plane,
in which spiritual good
with its happiness and blessedness terminates.
When therefore the order is to be inverted,
the former delight of pleasures expires
and becomes no delight,
and a new delight from a spiritual origin
is insinuated in its place.

~ Giving Children to Molech ~

The Lord said to Moses,
"Say to the Israelites:
'Any Israelite or any alien living in Israel
who gives any of his children to Molech
must be put to death.
The people of the community are to stone him.
I will set My face against that man
and I will cut him off from his people;
for by giving his children to Molech,
he has defiled My sanctuary
and profaned My holy name.
If the people of the children to Molech
and they fail to put him to death,
I will set My face against that man and his family
and cut off from their people
both him and all who follow him
in prostituting themselves to Molech.

(Leviticus 20:1-5)

AC 8370 - By Means of Temptations

AC 8370

. . . goods and truths are implanted in a person
by means of temptations,
but are not set in order until afterward;
for the state of temptation is turbulent,
but the state after temptation is tranquil.
the setting in order is effected in tranquility.
On this account also
temptations are followed by what is pleasant
by reason of enlightenment from truth,
and by what is delightful
by reason of the affection of good.

~ Obey My Laws ~

 The Lord said to Moses,
"Speak to the Israelites and say to them:
'I am the Lord your god.
You must not do as they do in Egypt,
where you used to live,
and you must not do
as they do in the land of Canaan,
where I am bringing you.
Do not follow their practices.
You must obey My laws
and be careful to follow My decrees.
I am the Lord your god.
Keep My decrees and laws,
for the man who obeys them
will live by them.
I am the Lord."

(Leviticus 18:1-5)

AC 8344 - The Waters of Marah

AC 8344

And Moses made Israel set out from the sea Suph,
and they went out to the wilderness of Shur;
and they went three days in the wilderness,
and found no waters.
And they came to Marah,
and they could not drink the waters for bitterness,
because they were bitter;
therefore he called the name thereof Marah.
And the people murmured against Moses, saying,
What shall we drink?
And he cried unto Jehovah,
and Jehovah showed him a piece of wood,
and he cast it to the waters,
and the waters were made sweet.
There He set for him a statute and a judgment,
and there He tempted him.
And He said, If hearing thou wilt hear
the voice of Jehovah thy God,
and wilt do what is right in His eyes,
and wilt hearken to His commandments,
and wilt keep all His statutes,
all the disease that I have put on the Egyptians,
I will not put upon thee,
because I am Jehovah thy healer.
(Exodus 15:22-23)

"And Moses made Israel set out from the sea Suph,"
-- signifies what is successive
according to the order of truth Divine
after they had passed through a region of hell;
"and they went out to the wilderness of Shur,"
-- signifies the state of temptation
into which they were next brought;
"and they went three days in the wilderness,
and found no waters,"
-- signifies that truths failed, and at last wholly;
"and they came to Marah,"
-- signifies a state of temptation;
"and they could not drink the waters for bitterness,
because they were bitter,"
-- signifies that truths appeared to them undelightful,
because devoid of the affection of good;
"therefore he called the name thereof Marah,"
-- signifies the state and quality of this temptation;
"and the people murmured against Moses,"
-- signifies grief from the bitterness of the temptation;
"saying, What shall we drink?" 
-- signifies that they could not endure truths,
because they were undelightful
by reason of no affection of them;
"and he cried unto Jehovah,"
-- signifies supplication to the Lord from grief;
"and Jehovah showed him a piece of wood,"
-- signifies that the Lord inspired good;
"and he cast it into the waters,"
-- signifies with which He affected the truths;
 "and the waters were made sweet,"
-- signifies that from this truths were made delightful;
"there He set for him a statute and a judgment,"
-- signifies the truth of order then revealed;
"and there He tempted him,"
-- signifies in respect to temptations in general;
"and He said,"
-- signifies instruction;
"If hearing thou wilt hear the voice of Jehovah thy God,"
-- signifies faith in the Lord's commandments;
"and wilt do what is right in His eyes,"
-- signifies a life according to them;
"and wilt hearken to His commandments,"
-- signifies obedience,
and a life according to the goods of faith,
which are the interior things of the church;
"and wilt keep all His statutes,"
-- signifies a life according to the truths of faith,
which are the exterior things of the church;
"all the disease that I have put on the Egyptians,
I will not put upon thee,"
-- signifies that they are to be withheld from the evils
that pertain to those who are in faith separate
and in a life of evil;
"because I am Jehovah thy healer,"
-- signifies that the Lord alone preserves from evils.

AC 8326 - "Regeneration Continually"

AC 8326

. . . in the Word a man is also compared to a tree,
and a regenerate man to a garden or paradise;
the truths of faith with him are compared to the leaves,
and the goods of charity to the fruits,
the seeds from which come new trees
to the truths which are from good,
or what is the same, to the faith which is from charity.
It is said "regeneration continually,"
because regeneration begins in a man,
but never ceases,
being continually perfected,
not only while he lives in the world,
but also in the other life to eternity;
and yet it can never arrive at any such perfection
that it can be compared to the Divine.
 

AC 8302

Who is like Thee, magnificent in holiness.
(Exodus 15:11)

That this signifies that from Him is all that is holy,
is evident from the signification of
"Who is like Thee in holiness?"
as being that no one is so holy;
but in the internal sense,
that from Him is all that is holy,
because He is holiness itself.
By "holy" is meant the Divine truth
proceeding from the Lord;
this is called "holy,"
and is also meant by the "Holy Spirit,"
which is for this reason called "the Spirit of truth"
(John 14:16, 17; 15:26, 27; 16:13),
and is said "to be sent by the Lord"
(John 15:26, 27);
and it is said that "He shall receive from the Lord
that which He will proclaim" (John 16:15).
As "holiness" is predicated of the Divine truth
which proceeds from the Lord,
therefore the angels are called "holy,"
because they receive it
(Matt. 25:31; Mark 8:38; Luke 9:26),
and also the prophets, especially the Word,
which is truth Divine itself.
Moreover from the Divine truth which is Himself,
because from Himself, t
he Lord is called "the Holy One of Israel,"
"the Holy One of Jacob," 
and "the Holy thing of God."

AC 8298 - The Weight of Evil

AC 8298

They sought the deep like lead.
(Exodus 15:10)

That this signifies
that evils dragged them down to lower things,
like weights in the world,
is evident from the signification of "the deep,"
as being lower things,
and the hells in respect to evils,
consequently "to see the deep"
denotes to be dragged down by evils
to these lower things.
It is said "like lead,"
because by "lead" is signified evil;
above, however, it was said
"they went down into the depth of the sea
like a stone" (verse 5),
because there, by "a stone" is signified falsity.
Both falsity and evil are heavy,
consequently both sink down;
but still it is evil which makes heaviness
in the spiritual sense,
and thus sinks down just as from a weight;
but not falsity by itself except from the evil which is in it;
for from itself falsity has no weight;
but from evil it has its tendency to sink.

(This should have gone out 8/2/2018 - apologies.)

~ After the Offerings, the People are Blessed ~

Then Aaron lifted his hands toward the people
and blessed them.
And having sacrificed the sin offering,
the burnt offering
and the fellowship offering,
he stepped down.

Moses and Aaron then went into the tent of Meeting.
When they came out,
they blessed the people;
and the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people.
Fire came out from the presence of the Lord
and consumed the burnt offering
and the fat portions on the altar.
And when all the people saw it,
they shouted for joy and fell facedown.

(Leviticus 9:22-24)
(should have posted emailed out 8/2/2018 - apologies)

AC 8261 - "To Sing a Song"

AC 8261 [2-3]

That "to sing a song" denotes to glorify,
and that thus a "song" denotes a glorification,
is because in the Ancient Church
and afterward in the Jewish Church
the songs were prophetic and treated of the Lord,
especially that He would come into the world,
and would overthrow the diabolical crew,
then raging more than ever,
and would liberate the faithful from their assaults.
And because the prophetic utterances of the songs
contained such things in the internal sense,
therefore by these
is signified a glorification of the Lord,
that is, a celebration of Him from gladness of heart;
for gladness of heart is especially expressed by a song,
because in a song gladness breaks forth
as it were of itself into sound.
Hence it is that Jehovah --that is, the Lord --
is called in songs "Hero," a "Man of war,"
the "God of armies," "Conqueror," "Strength,"
"Bulwark," "Shield," "Salvation;"
and the diabolical crew that is overthrown,
"the enemy" that is "smitten," "swallowed up,"
"overwhelmed," "cast into hell."

Those who knew nothing of the internal sense
also believed in time past
that such things as were in the world were meant,
as worldly enemies, battles, victories,
defeats, submersions,
of which the songs treated in the external sense;
but they who knew that all prophetic utterances
involved things heavenly and Divine,
and that these were represented in them,
knew that the subject there treated of
is the damnation of the unfaithful,
and the salvation of the faithful by the Lord,
when He would come into the world.
And then those who knew this,
and meditated upon it,
and were affected thereby,
had internal gladness;
but others only external.
The angels also who were with the men
were at the same time in the glorification of the Lord;
consequently they who sang,
and they who heard the songs,
had heavenly gladness
from the holy and blessed influx
which flowed in from heaven,
in which they seemed to themselves
to be as it were taken up into heaven.
Such an effect had the songs of the church
among the ancients.
Such an effect also they would have at this day;
for the spiritual angels are especially affected by songs
which are about the Lord, His kingdom, and the church.
That the songs of the church had this effect,
was not only because by them
gladness of heart became active,
and burst forth from within
even to the utmost fibers of the body,
and set these in motion
with a glad and at the same time a holy tremor;
but also because there is
a glorification of the Lord in the heavens
by means of choirs,
and thus by the harmonious music of many.
From this also angelic speech is harmonious,
falling into rhythmic measures.

~ The Anointing ~

The Lord said to Moses,
"Bring Aaron and his sons,
their garments,
the anointing oil,
the bull for the sin offering,
the two rams
and the basket containing bread made without yeast,
and gather the entire assembly
at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting."
Moses did as the Lord commanded him,
and the assembly gathered
at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.

Moses said to the assembly,
"This is what the Lord has commanded to be done."
Then Moses brought Aaron and his sons forward
and washed them with water.
He put the tunic on Aaron,
tied the sash around him,
clothed him with the robe
and put the ephod on him.
He also tied the ephod to him
by the skillfully woven waistband;
so it was fastened on him.
He placed the breastpiece on him
and put the Urim and the Thummin
in the breastpiece.
Then he placed the turban on Aaron's head
and set the gold plate,
the sacred diadem,
on the front of it,
as the Lord commanded Moses.

Then Moses took the anointing oil
and anointed the tabernacle and everything in it
and so consecrated them.
He sprinkled some of the oil on the altar seven times,
anointing the altar and all its utensils
and the basin with its stand,
to consecrate them.
He poured some of the anointing oil on Aaron's head
and anointed him to consecrate him.
then he brought Aaron's sons forward,
put tunics on them,
tied sashes around them
and put headbands on them,
as the Lord commanded Moses.

(Leviticus 8:1-13)