AC 2678, 2679 - The First State of Those Who Are Being Reformed and Becoming Spiritual

AC 2678

Their first state is
that they suppose they do good and think truth
from themselves, thus from what is their own proprium,
nor do they then know otherwise;
and when told that all good and truth are from the Lord
they do not indeed reject it,
but do not acknowledge it at heart,
because they do not feel it,
nor interiorly perceive
that anything flows in from any other source
than themselves.
As all who are being reformed
are in such a state at first,
they are therefore left by the Lord
in what is their own proprium;
nevertheless they are led by means of this
without knowing it.

AC 2679

. . . the quality of the state of those who are reformed
is in the beginning, namely,
that they are carried away into various wanderings.
For they are given by the Lord
to think much about eternal life,
and so to think much about the truths of faith;
but because they do so from the proprium,
as has been stated,
they cannot do other than wander into this position
and then into that both in doctrine and in life.
Thus they hold to that
as being the truth which has been instilled into them
since early childhood,
or which is impressed on them by others,
or which they think out for themselves,
quite apart from the consideration
that various affections of which they are not aware
exist to mislead them.
These people are like fruit as yet unripe,
to which shape, beauty, and flavor
cannot be given in an instant,
or like tender blades of corn
which are unable to flower
or to grow ears in an instant.
The ideas however which enter in at that time,
even though they are for the most part erroneous,
are nevertheless such as may serve to promote growth;
and later on when those persons are being reformed,
such erroneous ideas are partly separated,
and partly are of use in imparting
so to speak
nourishment and juices to the life that follows.
These in turn can be adapted
partly to the implantation subsequently
of goods and truths by the Lord,
and partly to serve
as the ultimate planes for spiritual things.
Thus they serve continuously as means to reformation,
which means follow consecutively
in an unbroken chain and order.
For every least thing with a person
is foreseen by the Lord
and is provided by Him
for his future state which continues for ever.
This is done for his own good,
to the extent that this is in any way possible
and the person allows himself to be led by the Lord.

~ The Lord Is My Strength and My Song ~

In that day you will say:

"I will praise you, O Lord.
Although You were angry with me,
Your anger has turned away
and You have comforted me.
Surely God is my salvation;
I will trust and not be afraid.
The Lord, the Lord is my strength and my song;
He has become my salvation.

(Isaiah 12:1-2)

 

AC 2662 - The Lord's Divine Human; AC 2663 - "God" and "Abraham"

  AC 2662

. . . the Lord's Divine Human is all salvation
for those who are in good.

AC 2663

By both names, "God" and "Abraham," is meant the Lord;
which shows that the historic statements
which are the sense of the letter,
divide the ideas;
but that the internal sense unites them;
for in the historic sense of the letter
there are two (namely, God and Abraham)
who speak to each other;
but in the internal sense there is one,
namely, the Lord in respect to the Divine.
This also shows that those
who are three in the sense of the letter
are one in the internal sense;
as the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,
who are not three gods, but one;
and that all the Trinity is complete in the Lord;
namely, that in Him is the Father, as He says;
and that from Him is the Holy Spirit, as He also says.

** The Flight Into Egypt **

And when they were departed,
behold, the angel of the Lord
appeared to Joseph in a dream,
saying, Arise,
and take the young Child and His mother,
and flee into Egypt,
and be thou there until I bring thee word:
for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him.
When he arose,
he took the young Child and His mother by night,
and departed into Egypt:

And was there until the death of Herod:
that it might be fulfilled
which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet,
saying, Out of Egypt have I called My Son.
Then Herod, when he saw
that he was mocked of the wise men,
was exceeding wroth, and sent forth,
and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem,
and in all the coasts thereof,
from two years old and under,
according to the time
which he had diligently inquired of the wise men.

Then was fulfilled
that which was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet,
saying, In Rama was there a voice heard,
lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children,
and would not be comforted,
because they are not.

But when Herod was dead,
behold, an angel of the Lord
appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt,
Saying, Arise, and take the young Child and His mother,
and go into the land of Israel:
for they are dead which sought the young Child's life.

And he arose,
and took the young Child and His mother,
and came into the land of Israel.
But when he heard that Archelaus did reign in Judea
in the room of his father Herod,
he was afraid to go thither:
notwithstanding, being warned of God in a dream,
he turned aside into the parts of Galilee:

And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth:
that it might be fulfilled
which was spoken by the prophets,
He shall be called a Nazarene.

(Matthew 2:13-23)

AC 2661 - The Salvation of the Spiritual Church

AC 2661 [2]

The Lord did not come into the world
to save the celestial,
but the spiritual.
The Most Ancient Church, called "Man," was celestial;
and if this church had remained in its integrity,
the Lord would have had no need to be born a man.
But as soon as this church began to decline,
the Lord foresaw that the celestial church
would wholly perish from the world;
and on that account
the prediction was then made
concerning the Lord's coming into the world (Gen. 3:15).
After the time of that church
there was no longer a celestial church,
but a spiritual church;
for the Ancient Church which was after the flood
(spoken of many times in volume 1)
was a spiritual church;
and this church, that is,
those who were of the spiritual church,
could not have been saved
unless the Lord had come into the world.

** The Adoration of the Wise Men **

And when they were come into the house,
they saw the young Child with Mary His mother,
and fell down, and worshiped Him:
and when they had opened their treasures,
they presented unto Him gifts;
gold, and frankincense and myrrh.
And being warned of God in a dream
that they should not return to Herod,
they departed into their own country another way.

And when they were departed,
behold, the angel of the Lord
appeared to Joseph in a dream,
saying, Arise, and take the young Child and His mother,
and flee into Egypt,
and be thou there until I bring thee word:
for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him.
When he arose,
he took the young Child and His mother by night,
and departed into Egypt:

And was there until the death of Herod:
that it might be fulfilled
which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying,
Out of Egypt have I called My Son.
Then Herod,
when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men,
was exceeding wroth, and sent forth,
and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem,
and in all the coasts thereof,
from two years old and under,
according to the time
which he had diligently inquired of the wise men.

Then was fulfilled
that which was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet,
saying, In Rama was there a voice heard,
lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children,
and would not be comforted,
because they are not.

(Matthew 2:11-15)

AC 2657 - Two Rationals; AC 2658 - The Lord Is Life

AC 2657 [6-7]

The first rational, in the beginning,
knows no other love than that of self and the world;
and although it hears
that heavenly love is altogether of another character,
it nevertheless does not comprehend it.
But then, when the person does any good,
he perceives no other delight from it
than that he may seem to himself
to merit the favor of another,
or may hear himself called a Christian,
or may obtain from it the joy of eternal life.
The second rational, however,
with which he is gifted by the Lord through regeneration,
begins to feel some delight in good and truth itself,
and to be affected by this,
not for the sake of anything of his own,
but for the sake of the good and truth;
and when he is led by this delight,
he disclaims merit,
till at length he rejects it as an enormity.
This delight grows with him step by step,
and becomes blessed;
and in the other life it becomes happiness,
and is itself his heaven.
So it is now evident
how it is with each rational
in the person who is being regenerated.

But be it known
that although a person is being regenerated,
still each and all things of the first rational
remain with him,
and are merely separated from the second rational,
and this in a most wonderful manner by the Lord.
But the Lord wholly banished His first rational,
so that nothing of it remained;
for what is merely human
cannot be together with the Divine.
So He was no longer the son of Mary,
but was Jehovah as to each essence.

AC 2658 [5]

. . . the Lord is Life itself,
and he who receives His life is in heaven.

 

** Where is He that is Born King of the Jews? **

Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea
in the days of Herod the king,
behold, there came wise men
from the east to Jerusalem, saying,
Where is He that is born King of the Jews?
for we have seen His star in the east,
and are come to worship Him.

When Herod the king had heard these things,
he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.
And when he had gathered
all the chief priests and scribes of the people together,
he demanded of them where Christ should be born.

And they said unto him,
In Bethlehem of Judea:
for thus it is written by the prophet,
And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
art not the least among the princes of Judah:
for out of thee shall come a Governor,
that shall rule My people Israel.

Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men,
inquired of them diligently what time the star appeared.
And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said,
Go and search diligently for the young Child;
and when you have found Him, bring me word again,
that I may come and worship Him also.

When they had heard the king, they departed;
and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east,
went before them,
till it came and stood over where the young Child was.
When they saw the star,
they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.

(Matthew 2:1-10)

AC 2638, 2641 - Sarah and Laughter; AC 2654 - Looking Within Ourselves

AC 2638
And Sarah said,
God has made laughter for me;
everyone that hears will laugh with me.
And she said, Who would have said unto Abraham,
Sarah shall suckle sons?
For I have borne a son to his old age.
(Genesis 21:6,7)

"Sarah said"
means perception from the Divine spiritual;
"God has made laughter for me,"
means the affection of celestial truth;
"everyone that hears will laugh with me,"
means that all things in it will have this affection; "
and she said," means thought;
"who would have said unto Abraham,
Sarah shall suckle sons?"
means that the Lord
implanted the Human in the Divine by His own power;
"for I have borne a son to his old age,"
means that this was done when the days were fulfilled.

AC 2641

As the affection of celestial truth is here treated of,
it is said, "Everyone that hears,"
by which are meant all things that are of affection.
(That to "laugh" denotes to be affected by truth,
that is, to have the affection of truth,
see above, n. 2072, 2216, 2640.)

AC 2654 [7]

That a person is able to look from within
into the things in himself which are below,
is known by experience to those who are in perception,
and even to those who are in conscience;
for they see so far as to reprove their very thoughts.
So it is the regenerate can see
what is the quality of the rational
which they had before regeneration.
With a person such perception is from the Lord;
but the Lord's was from Himself.

 

** The Circumcision and Presentation in the Temple **

And when eight days were accomplished
for the circumcising of the child,
His name was called Jesus,
which was so named of the angel
before He was conceived in the womb.
And when the days of her purification
according to the law of Moses were accomplished,
they brought Him to Jerusalem,
to present Him to the Lord;
(as it is written in the law of the Lord,
every male that opens the womb
shall be called holy to the Lord;)
and to offer a sacrifice
according to that which is said in the law of the Lord,
a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.

And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem,
whose name was Simeon;
and the same man was just and devout,
waiting for the consolation of Israel:
and the Holy Ghost was upon him.
And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Spirit,
that he should not see death,
before he had seen the Lord's Christ.

And he came by the Spirit into the temple:
and when the parents brought in the child Jesus,
to do for Him after the custom of the law,
then took he Him up in his arms,
and blessed God, and said,

Lord, now let thou Thy servant depart in peace,
according to Thy word:
For my eyes have seen Thy salvation,
which Thou hast prepared
before the face of all people;
a light to lighten the Gentiles,
and the glory of Thy people Israel.

And Joseph and His mother marvelled at those things
which were spoken of Him.
And Simeon blessed them,
and said unto Mary His mother,
Behold, this Child is set
for the fall and rising again of many in Israel;
and for a sign which shall be spoken against.
(Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also,)
that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.

And there was one Anna, a prophetess,
the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher:
she was of a great age,
and had lived with an husband
seven years from her virginity;
and she was a widow
of about fourscore and four years,
which departed not from the temple,
but served God
with fastings and prayers night and day.
And she, coming in that instant,
gave thanks likewise unto the Lord,
and spoke of Him to all them
that looked for redemption in Jerusalem.

And when they had performed all things
according to the law of the Lord,
they returned into Galilee,
to their own city Nazareth.
And the Child grew,
and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom:
and the grace of God was upon Him.

(Luke 2:21-40)

 

AC 2636 - Regeneration

AC 2636 [2-3]

It is known
that a person cannot be regenerated until adult age,
because he then for the first time
has the full exercise of reason and judgment,
and thus can receive good and truth from the Lord.
Before he comes into this state
he is being prepared by the Lord
by such things being insinuated into him
as may serve him as ground
for receiving the seeds of good and truth;
which are the many states of innocence and charity,
and also the knowledges of good and truth,
and the thoughts derived from them.
This preparation is going on for some years
before his regeneration commences.
When the person has been infilled with these things,
and is thus prepared,
his state is then said to be full;
for his interiors are then disposed for receiving.
All those things with which
a person is endowed by the Lord before regeneration,
and by means of which he is regenerated,
are called remains,
which are signified in the Word by the number "ten";
and also by a "hundred,"
when the state for regeneration is full.

These things may serve for illustration
as to what is signified by a full state of unition
of the Human with the Divine in the Lord,
namely, when from His own power,
by means of the combats of temptations and by victories,
and by the powers of the Divine wisdom and intelligence,
He had procured to Himself
so much of the Divine in His Human,
that is, in His rational,
as to be able to unite the Divine Itself
to the Divine acquired in the rational.
That this state might be represented,
it was brought to pass that,
although Abraham had dwelt for many years
in the land of Canaan,
Isaac was not born to him
until he was a hundred years old.

** Egypt **

AC 4964 [2, 3]

Egypt was one of those countries and kingdoms
where the Ancient Church was;
but as in Egypt it was chiefly memory-knowledges
that were handed down to posterity,
therefore such knowledge in general
is signified by "Egypt;"
and it is for this reason also that Egypt
is so often treated of in the prophetic Word . . ..

As the Lord is represented by Joseph,
its being here said
that Joseph was "brought down to Egypt,"
signifies that when the Lord glorified His internal man,
that is made it Divine,
He was first imbued
with the memory-knowledges of the church,
and from and by them
advanced to things more and more interior,
and at last even to those which are Divine.
For it pleased Him to glorify Himself,
that is, to make Himself Divine,
according to the same order
as that in which He regenerates man,
that is, makes him spiritual,
namely, from external things,
which are memory-knowledges and the truths of faith,
successively to internal things,
which are of charity toward the neighbor
and of love to Him.
From this it is plain what is signified
by the following words in Hosea:

When Israel was a child,
then I loved Him,
and called My son out of Egypt.
(Hosea 11:1);

that these words were spoken of the Lord
can be seen in Matthew 2:14-15:

So he got up,
took the child and His mother during the night
and left for Egypt,
where He stayed until the death of Herod.
And so was fulfilled
what the Lord had said through the prophet:
"Out of Egypt I called My Son."

 

AC 2634 - The Life That Leads to the Purification of Heart

AC 2634

God's precepts,
or the things which God has commanded,
are all things that are of Divine order
both in general and in particular;
so that Divine order is nothing but
the perpetual precept of God;
and therefore to live according to the precepts of God,
and to live in the precepts of God,
is to live according to Divine order and in Divine order.
So it is that by "as God commanded,"
is meant according to Divine order.
It was according to Divine order
that every male should be circumcised
on the eighth day from his birth;
not that circumcision was of any avail,
or that they who were circumcised
would enter into the kingdom of God
before the uncircumcised;
but because in the representative church such a rite
corresponded to the purification of the heart . . ..
It is of Divine order that the heart, that is,
a person's interiors,
should be purified gradually and continually
from the evils of greed,
and from the falsities of the fantasies derived from them.
The precepts relating to the purification of the heart
are all things of Divine order
both in general and in particular.
Insofar therefore as a person lives in those precepts,
so far he lives in Divine order;
and insofar as he lives in this,
so far all things in him, both of reason and memory,
are disposed by the Lord according to the order
which is from Him in the heavens.
Consequently the person becomes a little heaven
corresponding to the greatest.

** Symbolism in the Christmas Story **

De Verbo 7 [2]

It can be seen from the wise men from the east
who came to see the Lord when He was born
that a knowledge of correspondences
remained with many eastern people
even down to the time of the Lord's advent.

That is why a star went before them,
and they brought with them
gold, frankincense and myrrh.
And that is why the shepherds were told,
in order that they might know He was the Lord,
that this would be a sign to them:
that they would see Him in a manger,
wrapped in swaddling cloths,
because there was no room in the inn.

For the star which went before
symbolized knowledge from heaven,
inasmuch as stars in the Word symbolize concepts.
The gold symbolized celestial good,
the frankincense spiritual good,
and the myrrh natural good -
the three kinds of good
from which everything of worship originates.
The manger where the shepherds found
the infant Lord
symbolized spiritual nourishment,
because horses,
which get their nourishment from mangers,
symbolize things having to do with the understanding.
The inn where there was no room
symbolized the Jewish Church,
in which there was no spiritual nourishment at that time,
because everything of the Word,
and so everything of worship with them,
had by then been adulterated and perverted.
Therefore it is said that this would be a sign to them
that it was the Lord:

This will be a sign to you:
You will find a baby wrapped in cloths
and lying in a manger.
(Luke 2:12).

AC 2632 - From the Lord's First Rational to His Divine, and Our Journey, As Well

AC 2632 [2-3]

That the Lord's first rational was born as with others,
namely, by means of knowledges,
has been stated before,
where Ishmael was treated of,
by whom that rational is represented.
As this was born by means of knowledges,
thus by the external way,
which is that of the senses, and as with others,
it could not but have in itself
many things from the outward world,
for from them are the ideas of the rational procured;
and this the more
because it had its hereditary from the mother.
It was these worldly things and this hereditary
which the Lord successively expelled from His rational,
and this until it was such
as to be able to receive the Divine (n. 2624, 2625).
The Lord's Divine rational was then born,
which is represented by Isaac (n. 2630);
not however by the external way,
which is that of the senses,
as the former rational was;
but by the internal way
from the Divine Itself (n. 2628, 2629).
As this was not done at once,
but successively (n. 1690, 2033),
it was purified, and this continually;
which is meant by
"Abraham's circumcising his son, a son of eight days."
That the Lord made His rational Divine
by successive steps,
and continually purified it,
is evident also in John:

Jesus said, Father, glorify Thy name.
Then came there a voice from heaven:
I have both glorified,
and will glorify again.
(John 12:28)

That to "glorify" is to make Divine,
may be seen above (n. 1603, 1999).

In the Ancient Church nothing else was
represented and meant by circumcision
than that a person should be purified from
the loves of self and of the world,
and this also by successive steps and continually
(see n. 2039, 2046 at the end, 2049, 2056);
especially when he has been born a new person,
that is, when he has been regenerated;
for the Lord then flows in by the internal way,
that is, by the good of conscience,
and successively and continually separates
the things which adhere
both from hereditary and from actual evil.

~ Great Is the Lord ~

Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise;
His greatness no one can fathom.
One generation will commend Your works to another;
they will tell of Your mighty acts.
They will speak of the glorious splendor of Your majesty,
and I will meditate on Your wonderful works.
They will tell of the power of Your awesome works,
and I will proclaim Your great deeds.
They will celebrate Your abundant goodness
and joyfully sing of Your righteousness.

(Psalm 145:3-7)

** The Lord, Our Savior **

AC 14

In the following work,
by the name Lord
is meant the Savior of the world,
Jesus Christ, and Him only;
and He is called "the Lord"
without the addition of other names.
Throughout the universal heaven
He it is who is acknowledged and adored as Lord,
because He has all sovereign power
in the heavens and on earth.
He also commanded His disciples
to so call Him, saying,

"You call Me Lord, and you say well, for I am."
(John 13:13)

And after His resurrection
His disciples called Him "the Lord."

BE 57

...without the coming of the Lord into the world,
no mortal could have been saved,
and they are saved who believe in Him,
and live well.

AC 2618 - The Lord and the Heavenly Marriage; AC 2619 - "Saying" and "Speaking"; AC 2625 - The Nature of Angelic Life

AC 2618

As regards the state of union
of the Lord's Divine spiritual in His Divine celestial,
this is the very marriage itself of good and truth,
from which comes the heavenly marriage;
and this marriage is the Lord's kingdom
in the heavens and on earth.
For this reason
the Lord's kingdom is so frequently in the Word
called a "marriage,"
and is compared to a marriage.
The reason (a secret one) is that all conjugial love
(and through this all celestial and spiritual love)
comes from the marriage of Divine good and truth,
and of Divine truth and good, in the Lord.
What further arcana (secrets) are enfolded in these words:
that "Jehovah visited Sarah as He had said,"
and that "Jehovah did unto Sarah as He had spoken,"
cannot be declared,
because they are inexpressible;
for they comprise the very state itself
of the union of the Lord's Divine with His Human.
Appearances of this are presented by the Lord
before the angels
by means of heavenly lights,
and are illustrated by means
of inexpressible representations;
but they cannot be presented before people,
because it would have to be done
by means of such things
as belong to the light of the world,
into which such arcana (secrets) do not fall;
indeed, by a description based on such things
makes them all the more obscure.

AC 2619

With a person the case is this:
it is good from which he perceives,
but it is truth by means of which he thinks.
Good is of love and its affections,
consequently from it is perception;
but truth is of faith,
consequently this is of thought.
The former is meant in the historic parts of the Word
by "saying,"
but the latter by "speaking."
But when "saying" is found alone,
it then sometimes signifies perceiving,
and sometimes thinking;
because "saying" involves both.

AC 2625 [2]

Angelic life is of such a nature
to be the wisest and happiest of all.

~ Search Me ~

Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.

(Psalm 139:23-24, end
- the whole of this Psalm is a beautiful prayer.)

** In Bethlehem **

AC 4594 [2-3]

The reason why the Lord was born there
and not elsewhere,
is that He alone was born a spiritual celestial man,
but all others natural,
with the capacity or ability to become
either celestial or spiritual
by regeneration from the Lord.

The reason why the Lord
was born a spiritual celestial man
was that He might make His Human Divine,
and this according to order
from the lowest degree to the highest,
and might thus dispose into order
all things in the heavens and in the hells.
For the spiritual celestial is intermediate between
the natural or external man
and the rational or internal man.

For from the most ancient time
"Ephrath" signified the spiritual of the celestial,
and therefore afterwards
"Bethlehem" had the same signification.

 

AC 2606 - The Word From Heaven

AC 2606

The Word of the Old Testament was formerly called
the "Law and the Prophets."
By the "Law" were meant all the historical books,
which are the five books of Moses,
and those of Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings:
by the "Prophets" were meant all the prophetical books,
which are those of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel,
Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum,
Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zachariah, Malachi;
and also the Psalms of David.
The historical books of the Word
are also called "Moses;"
so it is occasionally said, "Moses and the Prophets,"
instead of the "Law and the Prophets;"
and the prophetical books are called "Elias" . . ..

AC 2607

As regards the historicals
they are all historically true,
except those in the first chapters of Genesis,
which are made up history, as shown in AC volume 1.
Yet although they are historically true,
they nevertheless have an internal sense;
and in that sense, like the propheticals,
treat solely of the Lord.
They do indeed treat of heaven and the church,
and of what belongs to heaven and the church,
but as these are of the Lord,
through these the historicals look to the Lord,
and therefore are the Word.
The historic events are all representative,
and every word by which they are described
is significative (or meaningful).
That the historic events are representative
is evident from what has been unfolded thus far
concerning Abraham,
and will be further evident from what of
the Lord's Divine mercy is to be explained
concerning Isaac, Jacob, and his twelve sons;
concerning Egypt,
the sojourning of the people in the wilderness,
their entrance into the land of Canaan, etc.

That every word by which these historicals
are described is significative (meaningful),
is also evident from what has been shown for instance
in regard to the names as meaning actual things;
thus "Egypt" means memory-knowledge,
"Asshur" the rational,
"Ephraim" the intellectual,
"Tyre" knowledges,
"Zion" the celestial church,
"Jerusalem" the spiritual church, and so on.
The same has been shown in regard to the words;
as that "king" means truth,
"priest" good,
and that all other words have
their respective internal meaning;
such as "kingdom," "city," "house," "nation," "people,"
"garden," "vineyard," "oliveyard,"
"gold," "silver," "brass," "iron,"
"birds," "beasts,"
"bread," "wine," "oil,"
"morning," "day," "light;"
and this uniformly in both
the historical and the prophetical books,
although they were written by various individuals,
and at different times --
a uniformity that would not be possible
unless the Word had come down from heaven.
From this it may be known
that there is an internal sense in the Word;
as well as from the fact
that the Divine Word cannot treat of mere men,
such as Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and their posterity
(which was the worst of nations);
of their kings, their wives, sons, and daughters;
of harlots, plunderings, and such things,
which, considered in themselves,
are not worthy to be even mentioned in the Word,
unless by them are represented and meant
such things as are in the Lord's kingdom:
it is these things that are worthy of the Word.

** The Lord's Soul Was Jehovah **

AC 2025 [4, 5]

The reason why the Lord so often
attributes to the Father that which is His own
(is because) Jehovah was in Him,
and consequently in everything that was His.

From good, which is Jehovah's,
He united the Divine Essence
to the Human Essence;
and from truth
He united the Human Essence to the Divine Essence;
thus He did all things
both in general and in particular from Himself;
in fact His Human was left to itself,
in order that He might fight of Himself
against all the hells, and overcome them;
and as He had life in Himself that was His own
- as already said -
He overcame them by His own power
and by His own forces,
as is also clearly stated in the Prophets,
in the passages that have been cited.
Consequently, as He acquired all things for Himself
by His own forces,
He became righteousness,
emancipated the world of spirits
from infernal genii and spirits,
and thereby delivered
the human race from destruction -
for the human race is ruled by means of spirits -
and so redeemed it.
For this reason He is so often called
in the Word of the Old Testament
the Deliverer and the Redeemer, and the Savior,
which is the meaning of His name Jesus.

AC 2590 - The Lord's Mercy; AC 2596 - Christian Doctrine

AC 2590 [2]

For in the wide world
all those who have lived in good
are of the Lord's mercy received and saved;
for good is that which receives truth.

AC 2596

. . . beyond every other doctrine in the whole world
the Christian doctrine prescribes love and charity,
but that there are but few persons
who live in accordance with it.

~ A Promise ~

The Lord will keep you from all harm --
He will watch over your life;
The Lord will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore.

(Psalm 121:7-8)

** The Good the Lord Acquired in the World **

AC 4065

. . . the Lord . . . never took anything
of good and truth from another,
but only from Himself.
Other good that was related to His maternal human
had indeed served Him as a means . . .
but by that mediate good He procured for Himself
those things whereby He made
His natural Divine by His own power.
It is one thing to acquire something from a means,
and another to acquire it by a means.
The Lord acquired good by a means,
because He was born a man,
and derived from the mother an hereditary
which was to be expelled;
but He did not acquire good from a means,
because He was conceived of Jehovah,
from whom He had the Divine;
and He therefore gave Himself
all the goods and truths which He made Divine.
For the Divine Itself has need of none,
not even of that mediate good;
except that He willed
that all things should be done according to order.

AC 2588 - Being Affirmative to the Lord Brings Enlightenment

AC 2588 [2, 8]

. . . those who are in the affirmative,
that is, who believe that things are true
because the Lord has said so,
are continually being confirmed,
and their ideas enlightened and strengthened,
by what is of reason and memory-knowledge,
and even by what is of sense;
for a person has light from no other source
than by means of the things of reason and memory,
and such is the way with everyone.

. . . when we do that which is according to order
we are enlightened;
but when we do that which is contrary to order,
we are made blind.
All of which shows of how great concern it is
that truths should be known and believed;
for a person is enlightened by truths,
but is made blind by falsities.
By truths there is opened to the rational
an immense and almost unbounded field;
but by falsities comparatively none at all,
although this does not appear to be so.
It is because the angels are in truths
that they enjoy wisdom so great;
for truth is the very light of heaven.

~ Great Peace ~

Great peace have those who love Thy law,
and nothing can make them stumble.

(Psalm 119:165)

** Why the Lord Come Into the World **

DL 3

It will also be stated here, in a few words,
what is treated of in general and in particular
concerning the Lord
in all the Prophets of the Old Testament,
from Isaiah even to Malachi: 

1. The Lord would come into the world
in the fullness of time;
that is, when He was no longer known by the Jews,
and consequently when nothing of the Church remained;
and unless He should then
come into the world and reveal Himself,
mankind would perish in eternal death;
as He Himself says in John, 

If you believe not that I am,
you shall die in your sins.
(John 8:24)

2. The Lord would come into the world
to accomplish a last judgment,
and thereby subjugate the then dominant hells.
This was effected by combats,
that is, by temptations
admitted into His Human from the mother,
and by continual victories then;
and unless the hells should be so subjugated,
no person could possibly be saved. 

3. The Lord would come into the world
to glorify His Human, that is,
to unite it to the Divine
which was in Him from conception. 

4. The Lord would come into the world
to establish a new Church,
which should acknowledge Him
as Redeemer and Savior
and by love and faith towards Him
be redeemed and saved. 

5. He would then also arrange heaven in order,
so that it might make one with the Church. 

6. The passion of the cross
would be the last combat or temptation,
by which He would fully conquer the hells
and fully glorify His Human. 

AC 2580 - 'Abraham Prayed to God'

 AC 2580

'Abraham prayed to God' means a revelation.
This is clear from the meaning of 'praying'
when it has reference to the Lord,
as a revelation being given, dealt with in 2535,
and from the representation of 'Abraham' as the Lord,
dealt with many times.
In the sense of the letter two are portrayed --
one who prayed,
and another to whom he prayed,
for it is said that 'Abraham prayed to God'.
But in the internal sense there are not two but one,
since it was God or Jehovah within Him --
for He was conceived from Jehovah --
who made the revelation.
Yet in so far as He had
that which belonged to the maternal human,
He was someone other.
It is scarcely possible however
for an explanation of this
to fall into ideas intelligible to people.
It can indeed fall into angelic ideas,
which are presented in the light of heaven,
but it cannot fall so easily into human ideas,
which do not perceive anything
unless they are illuminated
by the things which belong to the light of the world.
Still less can such an explanation
fall into the ideas of people
for whom everything belonging to the light of heaven
is thick darkness, so as to be nothing at all.

** The Government Shall Be Upon His Shoulder **

 HH 216

As government from good,
which is the kind of government
that exists in the Lord's celestial kingdom,
is called righteousness;
and government from truth,
which is the kind of government
that exists in the Lord's spiritual kingdom,
is called judgment,
so the terms "righteousness and judgment"
are used in the Word
when heaven and the church are treated of,
"righteousness" meaning celestial good,
and "judgment" spiritual good,
which good, as has been said above,
is in its essence truth,
as in the following passages:

Of peace there shall be no end
upon the throne of David and upon His kingdom,
to establish it and to uphold it in judgment
and in righteousness
from henceforth and even to eternity.
(Isaiah 9:7)

AC 4934
... the arms mean strength, and the hands power.

AC 4937
By the "shoulder,"
in the Word is also meant all power...

Unto us a Child is born,
and the Government shall be upon His shoulder.
(Isaiah 9:6)

AC 2574 - Deeper Secrets

AC 2574 [2, 3]

. . . the Lord alone had perception from spiritual truth;
that as the Lord had implanted
rational truth in rational good,
so had He implanted spiritual truth in celestial good,
thus continually the Human in the Divine,
so that there might be in everything a marriage
of the Human with the Divine,
and of the Divine with the Human.
. . . These things are chiefly adapted
to the minds of angels
who are in the understanding of such things,
and for whom is the internal sense of the Word.

This shows how precious to the angels
is that which is contained
in the internal sense of the Word,
although perchance it may appear
as but of little consequence to a person,
who has so obscure an idea about such things
that is scarcely any idea at all.

~ This Is the Day ~

This is t:he day the Lord has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.

(Psalm 119:24)

** Glory to God **

And it came to pass in those days,
that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus
that all the world should be taxed.
(And this taxing was first made
when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)

And all went to be taxed,
every one into his own city.
And Joseph also went up from Galilee,
out of the city of Nazareth,
into Judea, unto the city of David,
which is called Bethlehem;
(because he was of the house and lineage of David.)
To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife,
being great with child.
And so it was, that, while they were there,
the days were accomplished
that she should be delivered.
And she brought forth her firstborn Son,
and wrapped Him in swaddling clothes,
and laid Him in a manger;
because there was no room for them in the inn.

And there were in the same country
shepherds abiding in the field,
keeping watch over their flock by night.
And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them,
and the glory of the Lord shone round about them:
and they were sore afraid.

And the angel said unto them, "Fear not:
for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy,
which shall be to all people.
For unto you is born this day in the city of David
a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.
And this shall be a sign unto you;
You shall find the Babe
wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

And suddenly there was with the angel
a multitude of the heavenly host
praising God, and saying,
"Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace,
good will toward men."

And it came to pass,
as the angels were gone away from them into heaven,
the shepherds said one to another,
Let us now go even unto Bethlehem,
and see this thing which is come to pass,
which the Lord hath made known unto us.
And they came with haste, and found
Mary, and Joseph,
and the Babe lying in a manger.

And when they had seen it,
they made known abroad the saying
which was told them concerning this Child.
And all they that heard it wondered at those things
which were told them by the shepherds.

But Mary kept all these things,
and pondered them in her heart.
And the shepherds returned,
glorifying and praising God for all the things
that they had heard and seen,
as it was told unto them.

(Luke 2:1-20)

AC 2571, 2572 - The Lord's Thought and Goodness

AC 2571 [2]

. . . the Lord adjoined the Human to the Divine
by means of the truths which are of faith
(although at the same time
by means of Divine goods which are of love, in the truths)
according to the order by which a person
also becomes spiritual and celestial;
but not Divine, so as to have life in himself, like the Lord.
But when the Divine marriage of truth and good
and of good and truth in the Lord
had been effected . . .
the Lord's thought then
was concerning the doctrine of love and charity,
and this also according to order;
for when a person has become spiritual and celestial
he then no longer thinks from truth, but from good;
yet not from the Divine good united to the Divine truth,
as did the Lord.
This is the reason why the doctrine of love and charity
is now for the first time mentioned,
although regarded in itself
the doctrine of faith is the same;
and the Lord's perception
and thought in everything of faith
was always from the Divine Love.

AC 2572 [4]

Those who think
that the Lord is in truth separate from good
are much mistaken.
He is not in anything but good,
and from that in truth;
that is, in love and charity,
and from that in faith.

~ The Beginning of Wisdom ~

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;
all who follow His precepts have good understanding.
To Him belongs eternal praise.

(Psalm 111:10)

** The Word Became Flesh **

In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
He was with God in the beginning.

Through Him all things were made;
without Him nothing was made that has been made.
In Him was life,
and that life was the light of men.
The light shines in the darkness,
but the darkness has not understood it.

There came a man who was sent from God;
his name was John.
He came as a witness to testify concerning that Light,
so that through him all men might believe.
He himself was not the Light;
he came only as a witness to the Light.
The True Light that gives light to every man
was coming into the world.

He was in the world,
and though the world was made through Him,
the world did not recognize Him.
He came to that which was His own,
but His own did not receive Him.
Yet to all who received Him,
to those who believed in His name,
He gave the right to become children of God --
children born not of natural descent,
nor of human decision or a husband's will,
but born of God.

The Word became flesh
and made His dwelling among us.
We have seen His glory,
the glory of the One and Only,
who came from the Father,
full of grace and truth.

(John 1:1-14)

AC 2568 - To Affirm or Deny

AC 2568 [2, 4-6]

[2] As regards humankind
it is one thing to regard the doctrine of faith
from rational things,
and altogether another
to regard rational things from the doctrine of faith.
To regard the doctrine of faith from rational things
is not to believe in the Word,
or in the doctrine derived from there,
until one is persuaded from rational things that it is so;
whereas to regard rational things
from the doctrine of faith
 is first to believe in the Word,
or in the doctrine therefrom,
and then to confirm the same by rational things.
The former is inverted order,
and results in nothing being believed;
whereas the latter is genuine order,
and causes the person to believe the better.

There are therefore two principles;
one of which leads to all folly and insanity,
and the other to all intelligence and wisdom.
The former principle is to deny all things,
or to say in the heart
 that we cannot believe them
until we are convinced by what we can apprehend,
or perceive by the senses;
this is the principle
that leads to all folly and insanity,
and is to be called the negative principle.
The other principle is to affirm
the things which are of doctrine from the Word,
or to think and believe within ourselves
that they are true because the Lord has said them:
this is the principle
that leads to all intelligence and wisdom,
and is to be called the affirmative principle.

The more they who think from the negative principle
consult things rational,
the more they consult memory-knowledges,
and the more they consult things philosophical,
the more do they cast and precipitate themselves
into darkness, until at last they deny all things.
The causes of this are,
that no one can apprehend
higher things from lower ones,
that is, spiritual and celestial things,
still less Divine things,
from lower ones,
because they transcend all understanding,
and moreover everything
is then involved in negatives from that principle.
On the other hand,
those who think from an affirmative principle
can confirm themselves by whatever things rational,
by whatever memory-knowledges,
and whatever things philosophic
they have at command;
for all these are to them things confirmatory,
and give them a fuller idea of the matter.

Moreover there are some who are in doubt
before they deny,
and there are some who are in doubt
before they affirm.
Those who are in doubt before they deny
are those who incline to a life of evil;
and when this life carries them away,
then insofar as they think of the matters in question
they deny them.
But those who are in doubt before they affirm
are those who incline to a life of good;
 and when they suffer themselves
to be bent to this by the Lord,
then insofar as they think about those things
so far they affirm.
As this subject is further treated of
in the verses which follow,
it is permitted of the Lord's Divine mercy
to illustrate them more fully there (see n. 2588).
 

** For to Us a Child Is Born **

Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom
for those who were in distress.
In the past He humbled the land of Zebulun
and the land of Naphtali,
but in the future He will honor Galilee of the Gentiles,
by the way of the sea, along the Jordan --

The people walking in darkness
have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of the shadow of death
a light has dawned.

You have enlarged the nation
and increased their joy;
they rejoice before You
as people rejoice at the harvest,
as men rejoice when dividing the plunder.
For as in the day of Midian’s defeat,
you have shattered the yoke that burdens them,
the bar across their shoulders,
the rod of their oppressor.

Every warrior’s boot used in battle
and every garment rolled in blood
will be destined for burning, will be fuel for the fire.
For to us a Child is born,
to us a Son is given,
and the government will be on His shoulders.
And He will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Of the increase of his government and peace
there will be no end.
He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it
with justice and righteousness
from that time on and forever.
The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.

(Isaiah 9:1-7)

AC 2556 - The Person Who Is Rational, Regenerate

AC 2556

With a person who is truly rational, that is, regenerate,
everything has been arranged into order
such as exists in heaven;
and this ordered arrangement of everything within him
comes as a result of heaven flowing into him.
From that ordered arrangement within him
a person possesses a power
of thought, deduction, judgement, and reflection,
which is so marvelous that it surpasses
all human knowledge and wisdom,
infinitely surpassing the conclusions
which by analysis
human effort draws from these sources.
The reason these facts
have not been known up to now
is that people have not believed
that all the things which constitute
their affections, perceptions, and thoughts flow in -
evil ones from hell, decent ones from heaven.
Thus these have a connection with the things
that are outside of them;
yet the fact of the matter is that a person,
as regards his spirit,
is joined to those outside of him in such a way
that if he were deprived of that connection
he would not remain alive for a single instant.
This may also be recognized from the consideration
that anything unconnected cannot possibly exist,
and that anything unconnected perishes in an instant.

** Isaiah Prophesies to Ahaz **

Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz,
"Ask the Lord your God for a sign,
whether in the deepest depths
or in the highest heights."

But Ahaz said, "I will not ask;
I will not put the Lord to the test."

Then Isaiah said, "Hear now, you house of David!
Is it not enough to try the patience of men?
Will you try the patience of my God also?
Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign:
The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son,
and will call him Immanuel.
He will eat curds and honey
when He knows enough to reject the wrong
and choose the right.
But before the Boy knows enough
to reject the wrong and choose the right,
the land of the two kings you dread
will be laid waste."
(Isaiah 7:10-16)

Arcana Coelestia 2184

That "butter" is the celestial of the rational….
As regards butter,
it means in the Word what is celestial,
and this from its fatness.

Arcana Coelestia 5620

That "honey" denotes delight is because it is sweet,
and everything sweet in the natural world
corresponds to what is delightful and pleasant
in the spiritual world.

 

AC 2551 - Inside the Story of Abraham and Abimelech

AC 2551

The reason of there being thus presented
(through the story of Abraham and Abimelech)
in regular order,
in the internal sense,
how the Lord perceived and thought
concerning the doctrine of faith,
and concerning the rational
as to whether it should be consulted,
is that it is angelic to think of these things
in such a series.
The internal sense of the Word
is especially for the angels;
and therefore is adapted
to their perceptions and thoughts.
They are in their delightful, indeed,
in their blessed and happy states,
when they are thinking about the Lord,
His Divine and His Human,
and how the Human was made Divine;
for they are encompassed with
a celestial and spiritual sphere
which is full of the Lord;
so that it may be said that they are in the Lord.
Consequently,
nothing is more blessed and happy to them
than to think in accordance with the things
that belong to that sphere
and its derivative affection.

At the same time, moreover,
they are instructed and perfected, especially in this:
how the Lord by degrees and of His own power,
as He grew up,
made Divine the human into which He was born;
and thus how,
by means of the knowledges
that He revealed to Himself
He perfected His rational,
dispersed by successive steps its shadows,
and introduced it into Divine light.
These and innumerable other things
are presented before the angels
in a celestial and spiritual manner,
with a thousand and a thousand representatives,
in the light of life,
when the Word is being read.
But these things, which are so precious to the angels,
are to men as of no importance,
because above their comprehension,
and thus in the shade of their understanding;
and on the other hand,
the things that are precious to men,
such as those
which contain within them worldly matters,
are of no importance to the angels,
because below their state
and thus in the shade of their wisdom.
Thus, wonderful to say,
the things that come to shade with man,
and almost into contempt,
with the angels pass into light,
and into their affection,
as is the case with many things
of the internal sense of the Word.
___________

Here, 'man' and 'men' do not mean just male,
but all people, male and female.

** The Lord Looked Down **

Let this be written for a future generation,
that a people not yet created may praise the Lord:
"The Lord looked down from His sanctuary on high,
from heaven He viewed the earth,
to hear the groans of the prisoners
and release those condemned to death."
So the name of the Lord will be declared in Zion
and His praise in Jerusalem
when the peoples and the kingdoms assemble
to worship the Lord.

(Psalm 102:18-22)

~ Let the Heavens Rejoice ~

Let the earth be glad;
let the sea resound,
and all that is in it;
let the fields be jubilant,
and everything in them.
Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy;
they will sing before the Lord,
for He comes,
He comes to judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness
and the peoples in His truth.

(Psalm 96:10-13)

 

~ Come ~

Come, let us bow down and worship,
let us kneel before the Lord our Maker;
for He is our God
and we are the people of His pasture,
the flock under His care.

(Psalm 95:6-7)

 

** The Birth of John the Baptist **

Now Elisabeth's full time came
that she should be delivered;
and she brought forth a son.
And her neighbors and her cousins heard
how the Lord had showed great mercy upon her;
and they rejoiced with her.

And it came to pass,
that on the eighth day
they came to circumcise the child;
and they called him Zacharias,
after the name of his father.
And his mother answered and said,
Not so; but he shall be called John.

And they said unto her,
There is none of thy kindred
that is called by this name.
And they made signs to his father,
how he would have him called.

And he asked for a writing table,
and wrote, saying,
His name is John.
And they marvelled all.
And his mouth was opened immediately,
and his tongue loosed, and he spake,
and praised God.

And fear came on all that dwelt round about them:
and all these sayings were noised abroad
throughout all the hill country of Judea.
And all they that heard them
laid them up in their hearts, saying,
What manner of child shall this be!
And the hand of the Lord was with him.

And his father Zacharias
was filled with the Holy Ghost,
and prophesied, saying,
Blessed be the Lord God of Israel;
for He hath visited and redeemed His people,

And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us
in the house of His servant David;
As He spake by the mouth of His holy prophets,
which have been since the world began:

That we should be saved from our enemies,
and from the hand of all that hate us;
To perform the mercy promised to our fathers,
and to remember His holy covenant.

The oath which He swore to our father Abraham,
That He would grant unto us,
that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies
might serve Him without fear.

In holiness and righteousness before Him,
all the days of our life.
And thou, child, shalt be called
the prophet of the Highest:
for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord
to prepare His ways.

To give knowledge of salvation unto His people
by the remission of their sins,
Through the tender mercy of our God;
whereby the dayspring from on high has visited us,
To give light to them
that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way of peace.

And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit,
and was in the deserts
till the day of his showing unto Israel.

(Luke 1:57-80)

 

AC 2538 - Doctrine

AC 2538 [2]

In regard to doctrine the case is this:
Insofar as there is what is human
(that is, what is of sense,
of memory-knowledge, and of the rational)
as the ground of belief,
so far the doctrine is null and void.
But insofar as what is of sense, of memory-knowledge,
and of the rational is removed,
that is, insofar as doctrine is believed
without these things,
so far doctrine lives;
for so far the Divine flows in.
It is that which is proper to the human
that hinders the influx and the reception.
But it is one thing to believe from what is of the rational,
of memory-knowledge, and of sense
(that is, to consult such things in order to believe),
and quite another thing to confirm and corroborate
by means of things rational,
of memory-knowledge, and of sense,
that which is believed.

~ Who Can Compare With the Lord? ~

The heavens praise Your wonders, O Lord,
Your faithfulness too,
in the assembly of the holy ones.
For who in the skies above can compare with the Lord?
Who is like the Lord among the heavenly beings?
In the council of the holy ones God is greatly feared:
He is more awesome than all who surround Him.
O Lord God Almighty, who is like You?
You are mighty, O Lord,
and Your faithfulness surrounds you.

(Psalm 89:5-8)

** An Angel Appears to Joseph **

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

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

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

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

(Matthew 1:18-25)