AR 289 - Blessing

AR 289

"And blessing!"
(Revelation 5:12)

A blessing means
every good that a person has from the Lord,
such as power and wealth,
and everything that accompanies these,
but especially every spiritual good,
such as love and wisdom,
charity and faith,
and the accompanying joy and happiness,
which have to do with eternal life.
And because all of these come from the Lord,
it follows that He has them in Him;
for if He did not have them in Him,
they could not be present in others from Him.

It is for this reason
that in the Word the Lord is called blessed,
and also a blessing,
which is to say, blessing itself.

~ Hear, O Israel ~

Hear, O Israel:
The Lord our God, the Lord is one.
Love the Lord your God with all your soul
and with all your strength.
These commands that I give you today
are to be upon your hearts.
Impress them on your children.
Talk about them when you sit at home
and when you walk along the road,
when you lie down 
and when you get up.
Tie them as symbols on your hands
and bind them on your foreheads.
Write them on the doorframes of your houses
and on your gates.

(Deuteronomy 6:4-9)

. . . the Lord your God, who is among you,
is a great and awesome God.

(Deuteronomy 7:21)

AR 285 - The Earth; AR 287 - Ten Thousands and Thousands

AR 285

. . . the earth . . . means
the Lord's church in heaven and on earth.
The church in both worlds is the Lord's kingdom.

AR 287

And the number of them
was ten thousand times ten thousand,
and thousands of thousands.
(Revelation 5:11)

This symbolizes all possessing truths and goods.
The meaning of a number in its natural sense
has relation to measure or weight,
while the meaning of a number in its spiritual sense
has relation to character;
and here the people's character is described
by there being ten thousand times ten thousand of them
and thousands of thousands;
for ten thousand is predicated of truths,
while a thousand is predicated of goods.

Ten thousand is predicated of truths
and a thousand of goods
because ten thousand is the greater number,
and a thousand the lesser,
and truths are complex,
while goods are not;
also because where the subject in the Word is truths,
it deals as well with goods,
owing to the marriage of truth and goodness
in every part of the Word.
Without that marriage
the text could have said only
ten thousand times ten thousand.

~ Do Not Add or Subtract but Do ~

Hear now, O Israel, the decrees and laws
I am about to teach you.
Follow them so that you may live
and may go in and take possession of the land
that the Lord, the God of your fathers,
is giving you.
Do not add to what I command you
and do not subtract from it,
but keep the commands of the Lord your God
that I give you.

You saw with your own eyes
what the Lord did at Baal Peor.
The Lord your God destroyed from among you
everyone who followed the Baal of Peor,
but all of you who held fast to the Lord your God
are still alive today.

See, I have taught you decrees and laws
as the Lord my God commanded me,
so that you may follow them
in the land you are entering to take possession of it.
Observe them carefully,
for this will show
your wisdom and understanding to the nations,
who will hear about all these decrees and say,
"Surely this great nation
is a wise and understanding people."
What other nation is so great
as to have their gods near them
the way the Lord our God is near us
whenever we pray to Him?
And what other nation is so great
as to have such righteous decrees and laws
as this body of laws I am setting before you today?

Only be careful,
and watch yourselves closely
so that you do not forget the things
your eyes have seen,
or let them slip from your heart
as long as you live.
teach them to your children
and to their children after them.

(Deuteronomy 4:1-9)

AR 278 - Prayers of the Saints; AR 279 - A New Song

AR 278

Which are the prayers of the saints.
(Revelation 5:8)

This symbolizes thoughts that are matters of faith
springing from affections that are matters of charity
in people who worship the Lord
in accord with spiritual goods and truths.

Prayers mean matters having to do with faith
in people who pour forth prayers,
and at the same time matters having do to with charity,
since without these,
prayers are not prayers but empty sounds.

. . . saints symbolize people
who are impelled by spiritual gods and truths.

AR 279

And they sang a new song.
(Revelation 5:9)

This symbolizes
an acknowledgment and glorification of the Lord
as being the only judge, redeemer and savior,
thus God of heaven and earth.
These are the themes
contained in the song that they sang,
and whatever is contained is also symbolized.
. . . An acknowledgment that the Lord alone
is God of heaven and earth
and that His humanity is Divine,
or else He could not be called Redeemer and Savior,
is something that did not exist in the church before.
Therefore it is called a "new song."

~ Moses Reviews the Journey ~

These are the words Moses spoke to all Israel
in the desert east of the Jordan -- that is the Arabah --
opposite Suph,
between Paran and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth and Dizahab.
(It takes eleven days to go from Horeb to Kadesh Barnea
by the Mount Seir road.)

In the fortieth year,
on the first day of the eleventh month,
Moses proclaimed to the Israelites
all that the Lord had commanded him concerning them
This was after
he had defeated Sihon King of the Amorites,
who reigned in Hesbon,
and at Edrei had defeated Og king of Bashan,
who reigned in Ashtaroth.

East of the Jordan
in the territory of Moab,
Moses began to expound this law . . ..

(Deuteronomy 1:1-5)

AR 254 - The Book Written Inside and on the Back

AR 256

And I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne
a book written inside and on the back.
(Revelation 5:1)

He who sat on the throne means the Lord
in respect to His underlying Divinity
from which His humanity originates,
for the statement follows
that the Lamb took the book 
out of the right hand of Him
who sat on the throne (verse 7),
and the Lamb means the Lord
in respect to His humanity.
The book written inside and on the back
means the Word in every particular and in its entirety --
"inside" meaning in every particular,
and "on the back," in its entirety.
Inside and on the back also mean
the inner meaning of the Word, which is spiritual,
and its outer meaning, which is natural.
The right hand means the Lord
in respect to His omnipotence and omniscience,
because the subject is
the exploration of all in heaven and on earth
on whom the Last Judgment would fall,
and their separation.

As the embodiment of the Word,
the Lord knows of Himself
the states of life of all in heaven and on earth,
because He is Divine truth itself,
and Divine truth itself,
of itself,
knows everything. 

~ Towns for the Levites ~

"Six of the towns you give the Levites
will be cities of refuge,
to which a person who has killed someone may flee.
In addition,
give them forty-two other towns.
In all you must give the Levites forty-eight towns,
together with their pasturelands.
The towns you give the Levites
from the land Israelites possess
are to be given in proportion
to the inheritance of each tribe:
Take many towns from a tribe that has many,
but few from one that has few.

(Numbers 35:6-8)

AR 255 - A Vision of the Lord's Protections of His Word

AR 255 [1-4]

To prevent someone from entering
into the spiritual meaning of the Word
and perverting the genuine truth
found in that meaning,
the Lord has set protections,
which in the Word are meant by cherubim,
which is what the four living creatures here are.

That protections have been set
was represented to me in the following way:

I was given to see large purses, looking like sacks,
which had stored away in them a great deal of silver.
And since they were open,
it seemed as if anyone might take
the silver deposited in them,
even to make off with it,
but next to those purses
two angels were sitting as guards.
The place where the purses rested
looked like a manger in a stable.
In the next room I saw modest maidens,
together with a chaste wife.
Near that room were two little children,
and I heard it said
that they were not to be played with in a childish way,
but wisely.
And afterward a harlot appeared,
then a horse lying dead.

Having seen these things,
I was told that they represented
the literal meaning of the Word,
which has a spiritual meaning within.
The large purses full of silver symbolized concepts
of truth and goodness in great abundance.
The purses' being open and yet guarded by angels,
meant symbolically
that anyone might acquire concepts of truth there,
but that one should take care
not to falsify the spiritual meaning,
which contains only truths.

The manger in the stable where the purses were sitting
symbolized spiritual instruction for the intellect.
(A manger has this symbolism,
like the manger where the newborn Lord lay,
because a horse, which eats from it,
symbolizes an understanding of the Word.)

The modest maidens I saw in the next room
symbolized affections for truth,
and the chaste wife the conjunction of truth and good.
The little children symbolized
the innocence of the wisdom in the Word
(they were angels from the third heaven,
all of whom appear like little children).
The harlot together with the dead horse
symbolized the falsification of the Word
by many people today,
by which all understanding of the truth has perished.
(A harlot symbolizes falsification,
and a dead horse no understanding of truth.)

~ The Lord's Warning ~

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 posses.
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)

Like a: AR 241 - A Lion; AR 242 - A Calf; AR 243 - A Human Being; AR 244 - A Flying Eagle; AR 245 - Reading the Word

AR 241

The first living creature was like a lion.
(Revelation 4:7)

This symbolizes the Divine truth of the Word
in respect to its power.
A lion symbolizes truth in its power,
here the Divine truth of the Word in respect to its power,
as can be seen from the power of the lion,
which surpasses that of every other animal on the earth.
It can be seen as well from lions in the spiritual world
and the fact that they are images
representative of the power of Divine truth.
And it can be seen, too, from the Word,
in which lions symbolize Divine truth in its power.

AR 242

The second living creature like a calf.
(Revelation 4:7)

This symbolizes the Divine truth of the Word
in respect to its affection.

. . . The second living creature looked like a calf
because the Divine truth of the Word,
which it symbolizes,
affects hearts,
and so teaches and instills.

AR 243

The third living creature had a face like a human being.
(Revelation 4:7)

This symbolizes the Divine truth of the Word
in respect to its wisdom.
A human being in the Word symbolizes wisdom,
because the human being was born
to receive wisdom from the Lord and become an angel.
The wiser someone is, therefore,
the more human he is.
True human wisdom consists
in perceiving the existence of God,
the nature of God,
and what pertains to God.
This is what the Divine truth of the Word teaches.

AR 244

And the fourth living creature was like a flying eagle.
(Revelation 4:7)

This symbolizes the Divine truth of the Word
in respect to its concepts
and the understanding they afford.
Eagles have various symbolic meanings,
but flying eagles symbolize
concepts which lead to understanding,
since when they fly, they recognize and see.
They also have sharp eyes so as to see keenly,
and eyes symbolize the intellect.
To fly means, symbolically, to perceive and teach,
and in the highest sense,
which has the Lord as its subject,
it means to foresee and provide.

AR 245

. . . the Divine truth of the Word affects people
who read it reverently . . ..

~ The Israelites Go to War Against the Midianites ~

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

So Moses said to the people,
"Arm some of your men
to go to war against the Midianites
and to carry out the Lord's vengeance on them.
Send into battle
a thousand men for each of the tribes of Israel."
So twelve thousand men armed for battle,
a thousand from each tribe,
were supplied from the clans of Israel.
Moses sent them into battle,
a thousand from each tribe,
along with Phinehas son of Eleazar, the priest,
who took with him articles from the sanctuary
and the trumpets for signaling.

(Numbers 31:1-6)

AR 239 - Four Living Creatures

AR 239

And in the midst of the throne,
and around the throne,
were four living creatures.
(Revelation 4:6)

This symbolizes the Word of the Lord
from the firsts of it in its lasts,
and its protections.

I know people will be surprised at my saying
that the four living creatures symbolize the Word.
This is nevertheless their symbolic meaning . . ..

The four living creatures here
are the same as the cherubim in Ezekiel.
In chapter 1 there they are called likewise living creatures,
but cherubim in chapter 10, and they were, as here,
a lion, an ox, a human being, and an eagle.

It does not matter that the Word is described by creatures,
since the Lord Himself
is sometimes called in the Word a lion, and often a lamb,
and people possessing charity from the Lord
are called sheep.
Moreover, an understanding of the Word, too,
is in subsequent chapters called a horse.

It is apparent that these living creatures or cherubim
symbolize the Word from the fact
that they were seen in the midst of the throne
and around the throne.
The Lord was in the midst of the throne,
and because the Lord embodies the Word,
it could not appear elsewhere.
They were also seen around the throne,
because they were seen in the angelic heaven,
where the Word exists also.

 

~ Day of Atonement ~

"'On the tenth day of this seventh month
hold a sacred assembly.
You must deny yourselves and do no work.
Present as an aroma pleasing to the Lord
a burnt offering of one young bull,
one ram and seven male lambs a year old,
all without defect.
With the bull prepare a grain offering of
three-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil;
with the ram, two-tenths;
and with each of the seven lambs, one-tenth.
Include one male goat as a sin offering,
in addition to the sin offering for atonement
and the regular burnt offering with its grain offering,
and their drink offerings.'"

(Numbers 29:7-11)

 

AR 230 - A Throne; AR 231 - Precious Stones; AR 232 - A Rainbow

AR  230

And One sitting on the throne.
(Revelation 4:2)

That this symbolizes the Lord
is apparent clearly from the descriptions that follow,
and from places in the Word
which say that the Lord will render judgment.

AR  231

And He who sat there was like
a jasper and a sardius stone in appearance.
(Revelation 4:3)

This symbolizes an appearance of the Lord's
Divine wisdom and love in outmost expressions.

In the Word a stone symbolizes
truth in outmost expressions,
and a precious stone symbolizes
truth made translucent by the presence of good.

Two colors are fundamental
to all the rest in the spiritual world:
the color white and the color red.
The color white takes its origin
from the light of the sun in heaven,
thus from spiritual light,
which is bright white;
and the color red takes its origin
from the fire of the sun there,
thus from celestial light,
which is flaming.

. . . It is owing to this that in the Word
precious stones symbolize qualities connected
with either the truth of wisdom or the goodness of love;
and because jasper is bright white,
it symbolizes qualities connected with
the truth of wisdom,
while because sardius is red,
it symbolizes qualities connected with
the goodness of love.

AR  232

And there was a rainbow around the throne,
in appearance like an emerald.
(Revelation 4:3)

This symbolizes an appearance of
the Lord's Divine love and wisdom also around Him.

The Divine atmosphere which surrounds the Lord
emanates from both
His Divine love and Divine wisdom together,
and when that atmosphere is represented in the heavens,
it appears in the celestial kingdom red like a ruby,
in the spiritual kingdom blue like lapis lazuli,
and in the natural kingdom green like an emerald --
everywhere with an indescribable splendor and radiance.

~ Sabbath Offerings ~

"'On the Sabbath day,
make an offering of two lambs a year old without defect,
together with its drink offering
and a grain offering
of two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil.
This is the burnt offering for every Sabbath,
in addition to the regular burnt offering
and its drink offering.'"

(Numbers 28:9-10)

AR 225 - A Door; AR 226 - A Trumpet

AR 225

After these things I looked,
and behold, a door standing open in heaven.
(Revelation 4:1)

This symbolizes a manifestation
of the organization of the heavens
for a last judgment by the Lord,
to take place in accordance with
His Divine truths in the Word.

AR 226

And the first voice that I heard
was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying,
"Come up here."
(Revelation 4:1)

This symbolizes a Divine influx,
resulting in an elevation of the mind
and consequent clear perception.
When a voice is heard from heaven,
it means Divine truth flowing in, thus a Divine influx.
And a voice like a trumpet symbolizes a clear perception.
"Come up here," moreover,
symbolizes an elevation of the mind,
for in the spiritual world,
the higher one ascends,
the purer the light that he comes into,
by which the intellect is progressively opened
or the mind elevated.
Consequently the statement also follows
that John was then in the spirit,
meaning that he was conveyed into a spiritual state,
in which the things found in heaven clearly appear.
The voice sounded like a trumpet
because the subject is
the organization of the heavens for a last judgment.
Moreover voices like trumpets are heard in heaven
when assemblies and organizations are taking place.
Consequently in the case of the children of Israel also,
with whom everything
was representative of heaven and the church,
it was a statute that they make trumpets of silver,
and that the sons of Aaron sound them
to assemble the congregation;
to decamp;
on days of celebration;
at festivals;
at the beginnings of months;
upon the offering of sacrifices;
as a memorial; and to go to war (Numbers 10:1-10).

~ The Lord Commands Moses to Make a Second Count ~

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 were 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."

These were the clans of Reuben;
those numbered were 43,730.

These were the clans of Simeon:
there were 22,200 men.

These were the clans of Gad;
those numbered were 40,500.

These were the clans of Judah;
those numbered were 76,500.

These were the clans of Issachar;
those numbered were 64, 300.

These were the clans of Zebulun;
those numbered were 60, 500.

These were the clans of Manasseh;
those numbered were 52,700.

These were the clans of Ephraim;
those numbered were 32,500.

These were the clans of Benjamin;
those numbered were 45.600.

These were the clans of Dan:
All of them were Shuhamite clans;
and those numbered were 64,400.

These were the clans of Asher;
those numbered were 53,400.

These are the clans of Naphtali;
those numbered were 45,400.

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

Then Lord Said to Moses,
"The land is to be allotted them as an inheritance
based on the number of names.
To a larger group give a larger inheritance,
and to a smaller group a smaller one;
each is to receive its inheritance
according to the number of those listed.
Be sure that the land is distributed by lot.
What each group inherits
will be according to the names for its ancestral tribe.
Each inheritance is to be distributed by lot
among the larger and smaller groups."

All the male Levites a month old or more
were numbered 23,300.
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, 7,14,18, 22,25,27,34,37,
41,42.5-43, 47,51-56,62-65)

AR 224 - The As Though of Self - a Gift from the Lord

AR 224 [9]

. . . a person can reform and regenerate himself
as though of himself,
provided he acknowledges at heart
that the ability comes from the Lord.
Everyone who repents and believes in the Lord
is reformed and regenerated.
A person must do both as though of himself,
but the "as though of himself" comes from the Lord.

~ Balak Is Angry With Balaam ~

Then Balak's anger burned against Balaam.
He struck his hands together and said to him,
"I summoned you to curse my enemies,
but you have blessed them these three times.
Now leave at once and go home!
I said I would reward you handsomely,
but the Lord has kept you from being rewarded."

Balaam answered Balak,
"Did I not tell the messengers you sent me,
'Even if Balak gave me his palace
filled with silver and gold,
I could not do anything of my own accord,
good or bad,
to go beyond the command of the Lord --
and I must say only what the Lord says'?
Now I am going back to my people,
but come,
let me warn you
of what this people will do to your people
in the days to come.

(Numbers 24:10-14)
 

AR 198, 200 - The Church of Laodicia

AR 198

"And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write."
(Revelation 3:14)

This symbolically means,
to people and concerning people in the church
who base their beliefs
sometimes on their own thinking,
sometimes on the Word,
and so profane holy things.
But we need first to say something about these people.
There are in the church people
who both believe and do not believe --
who believe, for example, that there is a God,
that the Word is holy,
that life is eternal,
and many other things
connected with the church and its doctrine,
and yet who at the same time do not believe them.
They believe them
when they are in their sense-oriented natural self,
and yet do not believe them
when they are in their reasoning natural self.
Thus they believe them
when they are focused on things round about them,
and so when engaged
in association and conversation with others;
but do not believe them when they are focused inward,
and so when they are not engaged
in association with others,
and when their conversation then is with themselves.
It is these people of whom it is said
that they are neither cold nor hot
and will be vomited out.

AR 200 [1, 2]

"'The beginning of the workmanship of God.'"
(Revelation 3:14)

This symbolically means the Word.
In short, without the Divine truth of the Word,
which in its essence is
the Divine goodness of the Lord's Divine love
and the Divine truth of His Divine wisdom,
no mortal could have life.
The Word is the means
of the Lord's conjunction with a person,
and of the person with the Lord,
and through that conjunction comes life.
There must be something from the Lord
that a person can receive
which makes possible that conjunction
and so eternal life.

~ Balaam Goes to See Balak, King of Moab ~

The angel of the Lord said to Balaam,
"Go with the men,
but speak only what I tell you."
So Balaam went with the princes of Balak.

When Balak heard that Balaam was coming,
he went out to meet him
at the Moabite town on the Arnon border,
and the edge of his territory.
Balak said to Balaam,
"Did I not send you an urgent summons?
Why didn't you come to me?
Am I really not able to reward you?"

"Well, I have come to you now," Balaam replied.
"But can I say just anything?
I must speak only what God puts in my mouth."

Then Balaam went with Balak to Kiriath Huzoth.
Balak sacrificed cattle and sheep,
and gave some to Balaam
and the princes who where with him.
The next morning
Balak took Balaam up to Bamoth Baal,
and from there he saw part of the people.

(Numbers 22:36-41)

AR 178-193 (portions) - More from the Church of Philadelphia

AR 178

"'For you have little strength.'"
(Revelation 3:8)

This symbolically means,
because they know they have no power of themselves.

People who are governed by truths
springing from goodness derived from the Lord
know that of themselves they do not have any power
against evils and falsities, thus against hell.
Moreover, they also know
that they cannot from any power of their own
do good or introduce themselves into heaven,
but that all power is the Lord's,
and thus that they have it from the Lord,
and this to the extent that they are governed
by truths springing from goodness,
a power that nevertheless appears to them as their own.

AR 185

A spiritual battle,
which is what temptation or a trial is,
is called the Lord's command to persevere or endure,
because in temptations or trials
the Lord battles for a person,
and He does so by means of truths derived from His Word.

AR 189

A crown symbolizes wisdom,
because wisdom occupies the highest place in a person
and so crowns him.

AR 191

The holy temple of Jehovah or of the Lord
is His Divine humanity,
for it is to this that people bow, look to, and pray,
and not to the temple merely,
as the temple is not, in itself, holy.
It is called a holy temple,
because holiness is predicated of Divine truth.

AR 193 [2]

When the Lord was in the world,
He made His humanity the embodiment of Divine truth,
which is also the Word,
and when He departed from the world,
He fully united the Divine truth to the Divine good
that He had in Him from conception.
For the Lord glorified His humanity,
or made it Divine,
in the same way that He makes a person spiritual.
That is, He first instills in a person truths from the Word,
and afterward unites these to goodness,
and by that union makes the person spiritual.

~ Edom Tells Moses, "You May Not Pass Through" ~

Moses sent messengers from Kadesh
to the king of Edom, saying,

"This is what your brother Israel says:
You know about the hardships
that have come upon us.
Our forefathers went down into Egypt,
and we lived there many years.
The Egyptians mistreated us and our fathers,
but when we cried out to the Lord,
He heard our cry and sent an angel 
and brought us out of Egypt.

"Now we are here at Kadesh,
a town on the edge of your territory.
Please let us pass through your country.
We will not go through any field or vineyard,
or drink water from any well.
We will travel along the king's highway
and not turn to the right or to the left
until we have passed through your territory."

But Edom answered:

"You may not pass through here;
if you try,
we will march out and attack you with the sword."

The Israelites replied:

"We will go along the main road,
and if we or our livestock drink any of your water,
we will pay for it.
We only want to pass through on foot --
nothing else."

Again they answered:

"You may not pass through."

Then Edom came out against them
with a large and powerful army.
Since Edom refused to let them
go through their territory,
Israel turned away from them."

(Numbers 20:14-21)

AR 172, 173, 176 - The Church of Philadelphia

AR 172

"And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write."
(Revelation 3:7)
This symbolically means,
to people and concerning people
who are governed by truths
springing from goodness derived from the Lord.

AR 173
"'These things says He who is holy, who is true.'"
(Revelation 3:7)

This symbolically means the Lord
in relation to Divine truth.
Clearly it means the Lord.
He who is holy, who is true,
is the Lord in relation to Divine truth,
because the Lord is called holy
owing to His Divine truth,
and called just or righteous
owing to His Divine goodness.
It is in consequence of this
that His emanating Divinity --
which is Divine truth --
is called the Holy Spirit;
and here the Holy Spirit is He who is holy, who is true.

Holiness is often mentioned in the Word,
and it is everywhere predicated of truth;
and because all truth that is true in itself
originates from goodness and from the Lord,
it is that truth that is called holy.
In contrast,
the goodness from which truth originates
is called just or righteous.
It is owing to this
that angels governed by truths of wisdom,
called spiritual angels, are termed holy,
while angels governed by the goodness of love,
called celestial angels, are termed just or righteous.
The same is the case with people in the church.

It is because of this also
that prophets and apostles are called saints, or holy,
for prophets and apostles
symbolize the church's doctrinal truths.

It is because of this, too,
that the Word is called holy,
for the Word is Divine truth.

That is why the Law in the ark in the Tabernacle
was called the most holy place and also the sanctuary.

That, too, is why Jerusalem is called holy,
for Jerusalem symbolizes a church
which possesses Divine truths.
 
For the same reason the altar, the Tabernacle,
and the garments of Aaron and his sons
were called holy after they were anointed with oil;
for oil symbolizes the goodness of love,
and this sanctifies or makes a thing holy,
and everything made holy relates to truth.

AR 176

. . . the New Jerusalem symbolizes a church
formed of people who are governed by truths
springing from goodness derived from the Lord . . ..

~ Duties of the Priests and Levites ~

The Lord said to Aaron,
"You, your sons and your father's family
are to bear the responsibility
for offenses against the sanctuary,
and you and your sons alone
are to bear the responsibility for offenses
against the priesthood.

. . . "You are to be responsible
for the care of the sanctuary and the altar,
so that wrath will not fall on the Israelites again.
I myself have selected your fellow Levites
from among the Israelites
as a gift to you,
dedicated to the Lord
to do the work at the Tent of Meeting.
But only you and your sons
may serve as priests in connection 
with everything at the altar and inside the curtain.
I am giving you the service of the priesthood as a gift.
Anyone else who comes near the sanctuary
must be put to death."

(Numbers 18:1, 5-7)

AR 154, 158 - The Church of Sardis

AR 154

"And to the angel of the church in Sardis write."
(Revelation 3:1)

This symbolically means,
to people and concerning people
who are engaged in a lifeless worship,
or in a worship that lacks
the goods expressive of charity
or the truths connected with faith.

By lifeless worship we mean simply worship by itself,
which consists in people's going often to church,
listening to sermons,
partaking of the Holy Supper,
reading the Word and books of piety,
talking about God,
heaven and hell, the life after death,
and especially piety,
and praying morning and evening,
and yet without desiring to know any truths of faith
or wishing to do any goods of charity,
believing that salvation is theirs
simply by virtue of their worship.
This they believe even though apart from truths,
and without a life in accordance with those truths,
worship is merely
the external mark of charity and faith,
which may harbor within it evils and falsities of every kind
if charity and faith are not present in it.
Charity and faith are what characterize genuine worship.
Otherwise worship is like the skin or rind of a piece of fruit,
which conceals within
rotten or wormy flesh, so that the fruit is dead.

People know
that such is the worship prevalent in the church today.

AR 158
"'Be watchful.'"
(Revelation 3:2)

This symbolically means
that they should have truths
and live in accordance with them.

To be watchful
has precisely this symbolic meaning in the Word,
for a person who learns truths
and lives according to them
is like someone
who awakens from sleep and becomes alert.
By contrast, a person who lacks truths,
but who is engaged simply in worship,
is like someone who is asleep and dreaming.

Natural life, regarded in itself
or apart from spiritual life,
is really no more than a state of sleep,
whereas natural life that contains spiritual life
is a state of alertness.
This alertness, moreover,
is obtained only through truths --
truths which appear in their own light
and in their own clarity
when a person lives in accordance with them.

~ You and the Alien ~

"'The community is to have the same rules
for you and for the alien living among among you;
this is a lasting ordinance for the generations to come.
You and the alien shall be the same before the Lord.
The same laws and regulations will apply
both to you and the alien living among you.'"

(Numbers 15:15-16)

 

AR 154- Sardis, Philadelphia, Laodicea

AR 154

People in the Christian world
who are engaged in a lifeless worship,
one without charity and faith,
are described by the church in Sardis.

People who are governed by
truths springing from goodness derived from the Lord
are described by the church in Philadelphia.

People who base their beliefs
sometimes on their own thinking,
sometimes on the Word,
and so profane holy things,
are described by the church in Laodicea.

All of these, too, are called to the Lord's New Church.

~ Moses, My Faithful Servant ~

Miriam and Aaron began to talk against Moses
because of his Cushite wife,
for he had married a Cushite.
"Has the Lord spoken only through Moses? they asked.
"Hasn't He also spoken through us?"
And the Lord heard this.

(Now Moses was a very humble man,
more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth.)

At once the Lord said to Moses, Aaron and Miriam,
"Come out to the Tent of Meeting,
all three of you."
So the three of them came out.
Then the Lord came down in a pillar of cloud;
He stood at the entrance to the Tent
and summoned Aaron and Miriam.
When both of them stepped forward, He said,
"Listen to My words:

"When a prophet of the Lord is among you,
I reveal Myself to him in visions,
I speak to him in dreams.
But this is not true of My servant Moses;
he is faithful in all My house.
With him I speak face to face,
clearly and not in riddles;
he sees the form of the Lord.
Why then were you not afraid to speak
against My servant Moses?"

The anger of the Lord burned against them,
and He left them.

(Numbers 12:1-9)

AR 146, 147, 148, 153 - More Thoughts on the Church in Thyatira

AR 146

"'And he who overcomes,
and keeps My works until the end.'"
(Revelation 2:26)

This symbolically means,
those who fight against evils and falsities
and are reformed,
who are in fact governed by charity
and its resulting faith,
and continue to be governed by them
to the end of their life.

AR 147

"'To him I will give power over the nations.'"
(Revelation 2:26)

This symbolically means that they will overcome
the evils in themselves that come from hell.

Nations in the Word mean people impelled by good,
and in an opposite sense,
people impelled by evil,
thus abstractly goods or evils themselves . . ..
Here, therefore, to give power over the nations means,
symbolically, to make it possible
for the people to overcome the evils in themselves
that come from hell.

AR 148

"'He shall rule them with a rod of iron.'"
(Revelation 2:27)

This symbolically means,
by truths drawn from the literal sense of the Word
and at the same time
by rational considerations from a natural sight.

A rod or staff of iron has this symbolic meaning
because a rod or staff in the Word symbolizes power,
and iron symbolizes natural truth,
consequently the natural sense of the Word,
and at the same time a person's natural sight.
It is in these two that the power of truth resides.

AR 153 [5]

. . . anyone who loves falsities
cannot help but love evils.

AR 153 [11]

. . . it is people's inner qualities
that affiliate them in the spiritual world.

~ The Israelites Leave Sinai and Complain ~

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
til the cloud came to rest in the Desert of Paran.
They set out, this first time,
at the Lord's command through Moses.

So they set out from the mountain of the Lord
and traveled for three days.
The ark of the covenant of the Lord
went before them during those three days
to find them a place to rest.
The cloud of the Lord was over them by day
when they set out from the camp.

Whenever the ark set out, Moses said,

"Rise up, O Lord!
May Your enemies be scattered;
may Your foes flee before You."

And whenever it came to rest, he said,

"Return, O Lord,
to the countless thousands of Israel."

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 10:11-13,33-36; 2:1-3)

AR 124, 128, 129 - The Church of Thyatira

AR 124

"And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write."
(Revelation 2:18)

This symbolically means,
to people and concerning people
who are governed by a faith arising from charity,
and so are engaged in good works;
and also to people and concerning people
who are governed by a faith divorced from charity,
and so are engaged in evil works.

AR 128

"'And charity and ministry.'"
(Revelation 2:19)

This symbolizes the spiritual affection called charity,
and the practice of it.

Charity is a spiritual affection
because charity is love for the neighbor,
and a love for the neighbor is that affection.

Ministry is the practice of it,
because in the Word those are called ministers
who put into practice things that are matters of charity.


In the Word, a worshiper of God
is called sometimes a servant,
sometimes a minister;
and a servant of God is the term used for one
who is governed by truths,
and a minister of God for one who is governed by goods.
The reason is that truth serves good,
and good ministers to truth.

AR 129

"'And your faith and patience.'"
(Revelation 2:19)

This symbolizes truth and their effort
to acquire it for themselves and teach it.
Faith symbolizes truth . . ..
And it follows then that patience
symbolizes the people's effort and labor
to acquire it and teach it.

~ Setting Up the Seven Lamps ~

The Lord said to Moses,
"Speak to Aaron and say to him,
'When you set up the seven lamps,
they are to light the area in front of the lampstand.'"

Aaron did so;
he set up the lamps
so that they faced forward on the lampstand,
just as the Lord commanded Moses.
This is how the lampstand was made:
It was made of hammered gold --
from its base to its blossoms.
The lampstand was made exactly like
the pattern the Lord had shown Moses.

(Numbers 8:1-4)

 

AR 107, 121, 121 - The Church in Pergamum

AR 107

"And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write."
(Revelation 2:12)

This symbolically means,
to people and concerning people
who place everything having to do with the church
in good works,
and not anything in doctrinal truths.

The Christian church today
consists for the most part of two kinds of people.
People who are concerned only
with works and have no truths
constitute one kind.
People who focus only on worship
and are without works or truths
constitute the other.
The first kind is the subject here,
the second the subject of the letter to the church in Sardis.

AR 120

"'I will give to eat of the hidden manna.'"
(Revelation 2:17)

This symbolizes wisdom
and an assimilation of the good of celestial love then,
and thus a conjunction of the Lord
with those who perform works.

The hidden manna that people will have
who are engaged in good works
and at the same time add doctrinal truths to the works,
means a private wisdom,
such as people have who are in the third heaven.
For as these were focused on
good works and doctrinal truths simultaneously in the world,
they enjoy a wisdom beyond that of other angels,
but a private wisdom,
for it is engraved on their life
and not so much on their memory.
Therefore people of this character are such
that they do not talk about doctrinal truths
but practice them,
and they practice them because they know them
and also see them
when others talk about them.

The goodness of love is imparted to people
who add doctrinal truths to their good works,
and the Lord conjoins Himself with them
and thus grants them wisdom in their good works . . ..

AR 121

"'And I will give him a white stone.'"
(Revelation 2:17)

This symbolizes truths supportive of and united to good.

A white stone has this symbolism
because in cases requiring decision,
votes used to be tallied by collecting stones,
and white stones meant affirming votes.
Affirming truths are symbolized here,
because whiteness is predicated of truths.
Consequently a white stone symbolizes
truths supportive of good.
It means also truths united to good,
because goodness attracts truths and unites them to itself.
Indeed, all good loves truth
and joins to itself such truth as is in harmony with it,
and especially so the goodness of celestial love.
This so unites truth to itself
that they form an indivisible whole.

For this reason celestial people view truths
from the perspective of good.
They are the people meant by those
who have the law written on their hearts . . ..

~ When Moses Spoke With the Lord ~

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 7:89)

AR 91, 94, 95 - The Church of Smyrna

AR 91

"And to the angel of the church
of the people of Smyrna write."
(Revelation 2:8)

This symbolically means,
to people and concerning people who as to life
are engaged in good endeavors,
but as to doctrine are caught up in falsities.

AR 94

"'I know your works.'"
(Revelation 2:9)

This symbolically means that the Lord sees
all those people's inner and outer qualities simultaneously.
. . . in this case that He sees
that they are caught up in falsities,
and yet as to life are engaged in good endeavors,
which they believe to be goods of life,
even though they are not.

AR 95

"'And tribulation, and poverty.'"
(Revelation 2:9)

This symbolically means
that they are caught up in falsities
and so are not engaged in good practices.

Knowing their tribulation means, symbolically,
seeing that they are caught up in falsities,
and knowing their poverty means, symbolically,
seeing that they are not engaged in good practices.
For tribulation in the Word is predicated of falsities . . .
while poverty is predicated of the absence of goods.
That is what spiritual poverty is.
The Word quite often speaks of the poor and needy,
and in the spiritual sense a poor person means
someone who is lacking in truths,
and a needy person someone who is lacking in goods.

~ Restitution for Wrongs ~

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.
But if that person has no close relative
to whom restitution can be made for the wrong,
the restitution belongs to the Lord
and must be given to the priest,
along with the ram with which atonement is made for him.
All the sacred contributions the Israelites bring to a priest
will belong to him.
Each man's sacred gifts are his own,
but what he gives to the priest
will belong to the priest.'"

(Numbers 5:5-10)

AR 73, 74, 75 - Revelation 2:1 - The Church of Ephesus

AR 73

"To the angel of the church of Ephesus write."
(Revelation 2:1)

This symbolically means,
to people and concerning people
who regard doctrinal truths primarily,
and not goods of life.

AR 74

"'These things says He
who holds the seven stars in His right hand.'"
(Revelation 2:1) 

This symbolizes the Lord,
the source of all truths by means of the Word.
. . . "He who holds the seven stars in His right hand"
is the Lord,
and that the seven stars in His right hand
are all concepts of goodness and truth in the Word,
which exist therefore from the Lord
in angels in heaven and in people in the church.
Concepts of goodness and truth from the Word are truths.

AR 75

"'Who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands.'"
(Revelation 2:1)

This symbolically means,
the source of all enlightenment
for people who are part of His church.
. . . the seven lampstands
with the Son of Man in the midst of them
mean, symbolically,
a church that will have an enlightenment from the Lord.
He is said here to walk,
because to walk means, symbolically, to live;
and in the midst means, symbolically,
in the inmost and so in every part.

~ The Counting of the Israelites ~

So Moses, Aaron and all 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)

AR 68 - Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira

AR 68

To the churches in the Christian world:
to people there who regard primarily doctrinal truths
and not goods of life,
those meant by the church of Ephesus.

To those there who are engaged in good endeavors
as regards life,
and caught up in falsities as regards doctrine,
those meant by the church of the people of Smyrna.

To those there who place everything of the church
in good works and not anything in truths,
those meant by the church in Pergamum.

And to those there who possess
a faith springing from charity,
as well as to those who possess a faith
divorced from charity,
those meant by the church in Thyatira.

These are all called to the New Church,
which is the New Jerusalem.

~ The Levite Clans: Gershonites, Kohathites, and Merarites ~

To the Gershon belonged the clans of
the Libnites and Shimeites;
these were the Gershonite clans.
. . . The Gershonite clans were to camp
on the west, behind the tabernacle.
. . . At the Tent of Meeting
the Gershonites were responsible for the care of
the tabernacle and tent,
its coverings,
the curtain at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting,
the curtains of the courtyard,
the curtain at the entrance to the courtyard
surrounding the tabernacle and altar,
and the ropes --
and everything related to their use.

To the Kohath belonged the clans of
the Amramites, Izharites, Hebronites and Uzzielites;
these were the Kohathite clans.
. . . The Kohathite clans were to camp
on the south side of the tabernacle.
They were responsible for the care of the ark,
the table, the lampstand, the altars,
the articles of the sanctuary used in ministering,
the curtain, and everything related to their use.

To the Merari belonged the clans of
the Mahlites and the Mushites;
these were the Merarite clans.
. .  they were to camp
on the north side of the tabernacle.
The Merarites were appointed to take care of
the frames of the tabernacle,
its crossbars, posts, bases, all its equipment,
and everything related to their use,
as well as the posts of the surrounding courtyard
with their bases, tent pegs and ropes.

(Numbers 3:21, 23,25-26; 27. 29, 31; 33, 35.5-37)

AR 67 - The New Faith

AR 67

THE FAITH OF THE NEW HEAVEN AND NEW CHURCH
IN UNIVERSAL FORM.

This faith is as follows:
The Lord from eternity, who is Jehovah,
came into the world to conquer the hells
and glorify His humanity,
and without this no mortal could have been saved;
and those are saved who believe in Him.

We say, in universal form,
because it is a universal tenet of faith,
and a universal tenet of faith
must enter into each and every component of that faith.

It is a universal tenet of faith
that God is one in person and essence,
in whom is the Trinity,
and that the Lord is that God.

It is a universal tenet of faith
that no mortal could have been saved
unless the Lord came into the world.

It is universal tenet of faith
that the Lord came into the world
to dislodge hell from mankind,
and that He dislodged it by combats against it
and victories over it.
Thus He conquered it and forced it back into order,
in obedience to Him.

It is a universal tenet of faith also
that the Lord came into the world
to glorify the humanity that He assumed in the world,
or in other words,
to unite it to the Divine from which He came.
Thus He keeps hell,
having been conquered by Him,
in order and in obedience to Him to eternity.

Since neither of these objectives
could have been achieved
except through temptations or trials
even to the last of them,
and the last of them was the suffering of the cross,
therefore He underwent even that.

These are the universal tenets of faith as regards the Lord.

The universal tenet of Christian faith
on the part of mankind
is to believe in the Lord,
for believing in Him brings about conjunction with Him,
through which comes salvation.
To believe in Him is to have confidence that He saves,
and because no one is capable of this confidence
but one who lives rightly,
therefore living rightly,
too, is meant by believing in Him.

AR 59 - Not Regarding His Divine Humanity

AR 59

And was put to death.
(Revelation 1:18)

This symbolically means that the Lord was disregarded
and His Divine humanity not acknowledged.

His being put to death does not mean
that He was crucified and so died,
but that He was disregarded in the Church
and His Divine humanity not acknowledged,
for thus He became dead to people.

People do indeed acknowledge
the Lord's Divinity from eternity,
but this is in actuality Jehovah.
They do not, however,
acknowledge His humanity to be Divine,
even though the Divinity and the humanity in Him
are like soul and body,
and so are not two entities but one,
in fact one person,
in agreement with the doctrine
accepted throughout the Christian world
which has its name from Athanasius.

When people divorce
the Lord's Divinity from His humanity, therefore,
saying that His humanity is not Divine
but like the humanity of any other person,
He becomes then dead to them.

AR 52 - A Sharp Two-edged Sword

AR 52

And issuing from His mouth a sharp two-edged sword.
(Revelation 1:16)

This symbolizes a dispersion of falsities by the Lord
by means of the Word and doctrine drawn from it.

Swords are often mentioned in the Word,
and they symbolize nothing else
than truth combating falsities and destroying them.
In an opposite sense
they also symbolize falsity combating truths.
For wars in the Word symbolize spiritual wars,
which are those of truth against falsity,
and of falsity against truth.
Therefore the weapons of war symbolize the means
by which the combat is carried on in these wars.
It is apparent that the sword here means
a dispersion of falsities by the Lord,
because it was seen to issue from His mouth,
and to issue from the Lord's mouth
is to do so from the Word,
for the Lord spoke it with His mouth.
Furthermore, because the Word is understood
by means of doctrine drawn from it,
this too is symbolically meant.

It is called a sharp two-edged sword
because it pierces the heart and soul.

 

~ If You Follow My Decrees, I Will ~

"'If you follow My decrees
and are careful to obey My commands,
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 the 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.
I will remove savage beasts from the land
and the sword will not pass through your country.'"

(Leviticus 26:3-6)

AR 49 - The Natural Self, and the Lord in the World

AR 49 [6]

The natural self, which is also the outer self,
is purified when it refrains from the evils
which the spiritual or inner self 
sees to be evils
and ones to be shunned.

AR 49 [7]

. . . the Lord came into the world
to fulfill everything in the Word
and to become thereby
an embodiment of the Word,
even in its outmost expressions.

 

~ The Blasphemer ~

Now the son of an Israelite mother and an Egyptian father
went out among the Israelites,
and a fight broke out in the camp
between him and an Israelite.
The son of the Israelite woman
blasphemed the Name with a curse;
so they brought him to Moses.
(His mother's name was Shelomith,
the daughter of Dibri the Danite.)
They put him in custody
until the will of the Lord should be made clear to them.

Then Moses spoke to the Israelites,
and they took the blasphemer outside the camp
and stoned him.
The Israelites did as the Lord commanded Moses.

(Leviticus 24:10-12, 23)

 

AR 43, 44 - Seven Golden Lampstands

AR 43 [1, 2]

And having turned 
I saw seven golden lampstands.
(Revelation 1:12)

This symbolizes a new church,
which will have an enlightenment
from the Lord from the Word.

We are told in the last verse of this chapter
that the seven lampstands are the seven churches,
and  . . . that the seven churches mean
all in the Christian world who turn to the church --
and this in every case
according to each one's state of reception.

The seven lampstands mean a new church
because the Lord is in it
and in the midst of it.
For we are told
that in the midst of the seven lampstands
John saw one like the Son of Man,
and the Son of Man means the Lord
in relation to the Word.

The lampstands appeared golden,
because gold symbolizes goodness,
and every church is a church
by virtue of the goodness
that is formed through truths.

. . . These lampstands were not next to one another
or placed so as to touch each other,
but stood at some intervals forming a kind of circle,
as it apparent from this statement
in the following chapter,

These things says He who . . . walks
in the midst of the seven golden lampstands.
(Revelation 2:1)

We are not told anything
about the lamps on the lampstands,
but later it is said that the Holy Jerusalem,
which is to say, the New Church,
"has no need of the sun or of the moon,"
because "its lamp is the Lamb,
and the nations that are saved shall walk in its light."
(Revelation 21:23, 24)

And furthermore,

They need no lamp. . ., 
for the Lord God gives them light.
(Revelation 22:5)

For those people
who will be constituents of the Lord's New Church
are the only "lampstands"
that will shine with light from the Lord.

AR 44

And in the midst of the seven lampstands
one like the Son of Man.
(Revelation 1:13)

This symbolizes the Lord in relation to the Word,
from whom that church originates.
People know from the Word
that the Lord called Himself the Son of God
and also the Son of Man.
By "the Son of God"
He meant Himself in respect to His Divine humanity,
and by "the Son of Man"
He meant Himself in relation to the Word.

AR 44 [2]

. . . the church and everything connected with it
comes from the Lord through the Word.

~ Oil for the Lamps ~

The Lord said to Moses,
"Command the Israelites to bring you
clear oil of pressed olives
for the light
so that the lamps may be kept burning continually.
Outside the curtain of the Testimony
in the Tent of Meeting,
Aaron is to tend the lamps before the Lord
from evening till morning, continually.
This is to be a lasting ordinance
for the generations to come.
The lamps on the pure gold lampstand
before the Lord must be tended continually.

(Leviticus 24:1-4)

AR 42 - "Then I Turned"

AR 42

Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me.
(Revelation 1:12)

This symbolizes a turning around of the state
of those people who possess goodness of life,
in respect to their perception of the truth in the Word,
when they turn to the Lord.

John says that he heard the voice behind him (verse 10),
and now that he turned to see the voice,
and secondly, that having turned
he saw seven lampstands.
From this it is apparent
that he heard the voice in back of him,
and that he turned to see where it was coming from.

Clearly in this lies an arcanum.
The secret to it is that before a person turns to the Lord
and acknowledges Him as God of heaven and earth,
he cannot see the Divine truth in the Word.
That is because God is one
both in person and in essence,
in whom is the Trinity,
that God being the Lord.
People who accept a trinity of persons, therefore,
look primarily to the Father,
and some to the Holy Spirit,
but rarely to the Lord;
and if they do look to the Lord,
they think of His humanity
in the same way that they do an ordinary person.
When a person does this,
he can by no means be enlightened in the Word,
for the Lord embodies the Word,
since it comes from Him and has Him as its subject.
Therefore people who do not turn to the Lord alone
regard Him and His Word as being behind them
and not before them,
or as being in back of them
and not in front of them.

This is the secret that lies concealed in these words,
that John heard the voice behind him,
that he turned to see the voice,
and that having turned
he saw seven golden lampstands,
and in the midst of them the Son of Man.
For the voice that he heard
came from the Son of Man,
who is the Lord.

~ "I am the Lord your God." ~

"'When you reap the harvest of your land,
do not reap to the very edges of your field
or gather the gleanings of your harvest.
Do not go over your vineyard a second time
or pick up the grapes that have fallen.
Leave them for the poor and the alien.
I am the Lord your God.

"'Do not steal.

"'Do not lie.

"'Do not deceive one another.

"'Do not swear falsely by My name
and so profane the name of your God.
I am the Lord.

"'Do not defraud your neighbor or rob him.

"'Do not hold back the wages of a hired man overnight.

"'Do not curse the deaf
or put a stumbling block in front of the blind,
but fear your God.
I am the Lord.

"'Do not pervert justice;
do not show partiality to the poor
or favoritism to the great,
but judge your neighbor fairly.

"'Do not go about spreading slander
among your people.

"'Do not do anything that endangers
your neighbor's life.
I am the Lord.'"

'"Do not hate your brother in your heart.
Rebuke your neighbor frankly
so you will not share in his guilt.

"'Do not seek revenge
or bear a grudge against one of your people,
but love your neighbor as yourself.
I am the Lord.'"

(Leviticus 19:9-18)

AR 29 - The Alpha and the Omega

AR  29

"I am the Alpha and the Omega,
the Beginning and the End."
(Revelation 1:8)

This symbolically means,
who is the one and only reality from firsts to lasts,
from whom springs all else,
thus who is the one and only love,
the one and only wisdom,
and the one and only life in itself,
and so the one and only
Creator, Savior and Enlightener from Himself,
and therefore the all in all of the church and heaven.

The Lord calls Himself the Alpha and the Omega,
the Beginning and the End,
because Alpha and Omega
have reference to His Divine love,
while Beginning and End
have reference to His Divine wisdom.

The Lord is called the Alpha and the Omega
because alpha and omega are
the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet,
and they consequently symbolize
all things in their entirety.
That is because in the spiritual world
every alphabetic letter has some symbolic meaning,
and a vowel, since it serves to provide tone,
symbolizes something having to do with affection or love.
From this origin springs spiritual and angelic speech,
and also writing.
But this is an arcanum previously unknown.
For there is a universal language,
which all angels and spirits possess,
and it has nothing in common with any language
of people in the world.
Everyone comes into use of this language after death,
as it is implanted in everyone from creation.
Everyone can therefore understand
everyone else throughout the whole spiritual world. 

~ And Again ~

"'Keep My requirements
and do not follow
any of the detestable customs
that were practiced before you came
and do not defile yourselves with them.
I am the Lord your God.'"

(Leviticus 18:30)

 

AR 15, 16, 19 - Parts of Revelation 1:5

AR 15

And from Jesus Christ.
(Revelation 1:5)

This symbolizes His Divine humanity.
It may be seen in no. 6 above
that Jesus Christ and the Lamb in the Word
mean the Lord in respect to His Divine humanity.

AR 16
The faithful witness.
(Revelation 1:5)

This symbolically means,
which is Divine truth itself.
It may be seen in no. 6 above
that witnessing is said of truth,
and that truth bears witness to itself,
as does the Lord,
who is Divine truth itself and the Word.

AR 19
Who loves us and washes us from our sins in His blood.
(Revelation 1:5)

This symbolically means,
who out of love and mercy
reforms and regenerates people
by His Divine truths drawn from the Word.
It is apparent that to wash us from our sins
is to purify us from evils,
thus to reform and regenerate,
for regeneration is a spiritual washing.
However, "His blood"
does not mean the suffering of the cross,
as many believe,
but the Divine truth emanating from Him . . ..

~ On This Day Atonement Will Be Made ~

"This is to be a lasting ordinance for you:
On the tenth day of the seventh month
you must deny yourselves
and not do any work --
whether native-born or an alien living among you --
because on this day
atonement will be made for you,
to cleanse you.
Then, before the Lord,
you will be clean from all your sins.
It is a sabbath of rest,
and you must deny yourselves;
it is a lasting ordinance."

(Leviticus 16:29-31)

 

AR 9 - "For the time Is Near."

AR 9

For the time is near.
(Revelation 1:3)

This symbolically means,
the state of the church being such
that it can no longer continue to maintain
its conjunction with the Lord.

There are two essential elements
which make possible a conjunction with the Lord
and so salvation:
an acknowledgment of one God,
and repentance of life.
But at the present day
instead of an acknowledgment of one God
we have an acknowledgment of three,
and instead of repentance of life,
a repentance solely of the lips
that one is a sinner;
and these two do not lead to any conjunction.
Consequently, unless a new church arises
which acknowledges the two essential elements
and lives them,
no one can be saved.

 

AR 4 - "Things Which Must Shortly Take Place"

AR 4

Things which must shortly take place.
(Revelation 1:1)

This symbolically means
that they must surely come to pass
to keep the church from perishing.

"Which must shortly take place"
does not mean
that the things predicted in the book of Revelation
are going to happen immediately or quickly,
but that they will happen surely,
and that unless they come to pass,
the church will perish.

In the Divine view,
and so in the spiritual sense,
time does not exist,
but instead of time, state.
And because "shortly" has to do with time,
it symbolically means certainty
and that something will happen before its time.
For the book of Revelation
was written in the first century,
and seventeen centuries have now gone by,
from which it is apparent that "shortly" means,
symbolically, what corresponds to it,
which is certainty.

 

~ I Am the Lord ~

"'I am the Lord your God;
consecrate yourselves and be holy,
because I am holy.'"

(Leviticus 11:44)

AR Preface & 1 - The Book of Revelation

AR Preface [4]
(AR = Apocalypse Revealed)

Everyone can see that the book of Revelation
cannot possibly be explained
except by the Lord alone,
for every single word in it contains arcana --
arcana which never would be known
without a singular enlightenment and thus revelation.
Consequently it has pleased the Lord
to open for me the sight of my spirit and teach me.
Do not suppose therefore
that I have acquired anything there on my own,
or from any angel, but from the Lord alone.

The Lord also said through the angel to John,
"Do not seal the words of the prophecy of this book"
(Revelation 22:10),
which means that they are to be presented to view.

AR 1 [2]

Because it (the Word) is Divine,
no one can deny that it is spiritual at its core.
But because the spiritual component is not apparent
in the literal sense, which is natural,
therefore the spiritual meaning
has been hitherto unknown.
Nor could it have been known previously,
before the Lord revealed genuine truths,
as the spiritual meaning consists in those truths.
It is on this account that the book of Revelation
has heretofore not been understood.
But lest there be any doubt that it contains such truths,
its contents must be explained phrase by phrase
and demonstrated by similar passages
elsewhere in the Word.
The explanation and demonstration now follow.

~ The Death of Nadab and Abihu ~

Aaron's sons Nadab and Abihu took their censers,
and put fire in them and added incense;
and they offered unauthorized fire before the Lord,
contrary to His command.
So fire came out from the presence of the Lord
and consumed them,
and they died before the Lord.
Moses then said to Aaron,
"This is what the Lord spoke of when He said:

"'Among those who approach Me
I will show Myself holy;
in the sight of all the people
I will be honored.'"

Aaron remained silent.

(Leviticus 10:1-3)

DP 335-336 - Means and Methods

DP 335 [1, 3] - 336

The operation of Divine providence takes place unceasingly,
through means, out of pure mercy.
Divine providence has its means and methods.
Its means are the instruments by which
a person becomes human
and is perfected in intellect and in will.
Its methods are the ways these goals are accomplished.

The means by which a person becomes human
and is perfected in intellect
are in common parlance called truths,
which in thought become ideas,
and in the memory are called facts,
and which in themselves
are the concepts on which
the various branches of knowledge are founded.

All of these means regarded in themselves are spiritual.
But because they exist in natural embodiments,
owing to their investiture or clothing
they appear to be natural,
and some of them material.

These means are infinite in number
and infinite in their variety.
They are more or less simple or composite,
and they are more or less imperfect or perfect.

There are just as many means, too,
by which a person is formed and perfected in will,
but these in common parlance are called goods.
It is owing to these that a person possesses love,
whereas it is owing to the former that he has wisdom.
The conjunction of the two form the person,
for a person's character
is such as the nature of the conjunction.
This conjunction is what we call
the marriage of good and truth.

The methods, on the other hand,
by which Divine providence operates
upon the means and through the means
to form the person and perfect him,
are also infinite in number and infinite in their variety,
being as many as the operations
of Divine wisdom out of Divine love to save mankind.
Thus they are as many as the operations
of Divine providence in accordance with its laws,
laws which we have discussed above.

. . . these methods are most secret . . ..

~ The Fellowship Offering of Thanksgiving ~

"'These are the regulations for the fellowship offering
a person may present to the Lord:

"'If he offers it as an expression of thankfulness,
then along with this thank offering
he is to offer cakes of bread
made without yeast and mixed with oil,
wafers made without yeast and spread with oil,
and cakes of fine flour well-kneaded and mixed with oil.
Along with his fellowship offering of thanksgiving
he is to present an offering with cakes of bread
made with yeast.
He is to bring one of each kind as an offering,
a contribution to the Lord;
it belongs to the priest
who sprinkles the blood of the fellowship offerings.
The meat of his fellowship offering of thanksgiving
must be eaten on the day it is offered;
he must leave none of it til morning.

(Leviticus 7:11-15)