AC 5070 - Eternal Life, Spiritual Death

AC 5070

The "eternal life" which is given to the righteous,
is life from good.
Good has life in itself,
because it is from the Lord, who is life itself.
In the life which is from the Lord
there are wisdom and intelligence;
for to receive good from the Lord
and thence to will good, is wisdom;
and to receive truth from the Lord
and thence to believe truth, is intelligence;
and those who have this wisdom and intelligence have life;
and as happiness is joined to such life,
eternal happiness also is signified by "life."
The contrary is the case with those who are in evil.
These do indeed appear -- especially to themselves --
as if they had life,
but it is such life as in the Word is called "death,"
and also is spiritual death;
for they are not wise in any good,
nor intelligent in any truth.
This may be seen by everyone
who takes the matter into consideration,
for as there is life in good and in its truth,
there cannot be life in evil and in its falsity,
because these are opposite and extinguish life.
Therefore the persons in question
have no other life than such as belongs to the insane.


 

AC 5044 - Princes and King; AC 5049 - "Jehovah Made to Prosper" (Genesis 39:23)

AC 5044 [1-3, 5] - Princes and King

With all who are in temptations
there flows in truth from the Lord,
which rules and governs the thoughts
and raises up the sufferers
whenever they fall into doubts and even into despair.
This governing truth is that truth and such truth
as they have learned from the Word or from doctrine,
and have confirmed in themselves.
Other truths are indeed at such times also called to mind,
but they do not govern the interiors.
Sometimes the truth which governs
is not presented visibly before the understanding,
but lies hid in obscurity,
yet it still governs;
for the Divine of the Lord flows into it,
and thus keeps the interiors of the mind in it,
and therefore when it comes into light,
the person who is in temptation
receives consolation and is relieved.

It is not this truth itself,
but the affection of it,
by which the Lord governs those who are in temptations;
for the Divine flows only into those things
which are of the affection.
The truth which is implanted and rooted in
a person's interiors
is implanted and rooted by affection,
and not at all without affection;
and the truth which has been implanted
and rooted by affection, clings there,
and is recalled by affection;
and when this truth is so recalled,
it presents the affection that is conjoined with it,
which is the person's reciprocal affection.
As such is the case with the person who is in temptations,
therefore no one is admitted into any spiritual temptation
until he reaches adult age,
and has thus become imbued with
some truth by which he can be governed;
otherwise he sinks under the temptation,
and then his latter state is worse than the first.
From these things it may be seen what is meant
by truth governing in a state of temptations,
which is signified by the "prince of the prison house."

That a "prince" denotes primary truth,
is because a "king" in the internal sense
signifies truth itself;
hence "princes," because they are the sons of a king,
signify the primary things of that truth.

. . . the angels also reject from themselves
the idea of a king and a prince;
and when they perceive it in a person,
they transfer it to the Lord,
and perceive that which proceeds from the Lord
and is the Lord's in heaven,
namely, the Divine truth from His Divine good.

AC 5049 - "Jehovah Made to Prosper" (Genesis 39:23)

That "making to prosper,"
in the supreme sense, is providence,
is because everything prosperous
which appears in the ultimates of nature
is in its origin from the Divine providence of the Lord.

AC 5042 - The Divine Mercy; AC 5043 - "To Give Grace"

AC 5042 - The Divine Mercy

And inclined mercy unto him.
(Genesis 39:21)

The Divine being itself,
understood in the supreme sense,
is love utterly incomprehensible to a person;
and from this love through truth
all things come forth and subsist,
both those which have life and those which have not.
This Divine love from the very being
through the inmost of life in the Lord,
flowed into everything He did from the human
taken from the mother,
and directed all to ends,
and these ends to the ultimate end
that mankind might be saved.
And because the Lord,
from the Divine Itself in Him,
saw the nature of His human,
that it was hereditarily in evil,
therefore it is said that
"Jehovah inclined mercy unto him;"
and by this in the supreme sense is meant
the Divine love in everything.
For the Divine mercy is nothing else
than the Divine love toward those
who are immersed in miseries,
that is, toward those who are in temptations;
for these are in miseries,
and are chiefly meant in the Word by the "miserable."

AC 5043 - "To Give Grace"

. . ."to give grace" in temptations
is to comfort and relieve with hope . . ..

AC 5036, 5038 - What Goes On During Temptation & a Short Definition

AC 5036 - What Goes On During Temptation

Scarcely anyone in the Christian world at this day
knows where temptations come from.
He who undergoes them has no other belief
than that they are torments arising from
the evils which are within a person,
and which at first make him uneasy, then anxious,
and finally torment him;
but he is altogether ignorant
that they are effected by the evil spirits who are with him.
The reason why he is ignorant of this,
is that he does not believe
that he is in company with spirits
while he lives in the world,
and scarcely believes that there is any spirit with him;
when yet as to his interiors
a person is continually in the society of spirits and angels.

As regards temptations, they take place
when the person is in the act of regeneration;
for no one can be regenerated
unless he undergoes temptations,
and they then arise from evil spirits who are about him.
For the person is then let into the state of evil in which he is,
that is, in which is that very [life] which is his own;
and when he comes into this state,
evil or infernal spirits encompass him,
and when they perceive
that he is inwardly protected by angels,
the evil spirits excite the falsities which he has thought,
and the evils which he has done,
but the angels defend him from within.
It is this combat
which is perceived in the person as temptation,
but so obscurely that he scarcely knows otherwise
than that it is merely an anxiety;
for a person -- especially if he believes nothing about influx --
is in a state that is wholly obscure,
and he perceives scarcely a thousandth part of the things
about which the evil spirits and angels are contending.
And yet the battle is then being fought for
the person and his eternal salvation,
and it is fought from the person himself;
for they fight from those things
which are in a person, and concerning them.

. . . As before said,
temptations take place chiefly at the time
when the person is becoming spiritual;
for he then apprehends spiritually the truths of doctrine.
The person is often unaware of this,
but still the angels with him
see in his natural things the spiritual;
for his interiors are then open toward heaven.
For this reason also
the person who has been regenerated
is among angels after his life in the world,
and there both sees and perceives the spiritual things
which before appeared to him as natural.
When therefore a person has come into such a state,
then in temptation, when assaulted by evil spirits,
he can be defended by angels,
who then have a plane into which they can operate;
for they flow into what is spiritual with him,
and through this into what is natural.

But when ultimate truth has been withdrawn,
and therefore person has nothing
by which to defend himself against those who are natural,
he then comes into temptations,
and by evil spirits --
who are all merely natural --
he is accused especially of speaking falsely against good;
as for example of having thought
and said that the neighbor ought to be benefited,
and having also approved this in act,
and yet now meaning by the neighbor
only those who are in good and truth,
and not those who are in evil and falsity
and cannot be amended;
and consequently,
because he is no longer willing to benefit the evil,
or if he will benefit them,
he desires them to be punished
for the sake of their amendment,
and for the purpose of averting evil from his neighbor,
they charge him with thinking and speaking what is false,
and with not thinking as he speaks.

Take another example.
Because when a person becomes spiritual,
he no longer believes it holy and for pious use
to give to monasteries,
or even to churches which abound in wealth;
and because before he became spiritual
he had thought that such giving was holy and pious,
they charge him with falsehood,
and stir up all his thoughts which he had before cherished
as to its being holy and pious,
and also the works which he had done from such thought.
And so they do in numberless other cases,
but let these few examples serve by way of illustration.
These spirits enter principally into
the affections which the person had before,
and excite them,
and also the false and evil things
which he had thought and done;
and thus they bring him into anxiety,
and often into doubt even to despair.

Such then is the source of spiritual anxieties,
and of the torments which
are called torments of conscience.
By influx and communication
these things appear to the person as if they were in himself.
One who knows and believes this
may be compared to a person who sees himself in a mirror,
and knows that it is not himself that appears in it,
or on the other side of it,
but only his image;
whereas one who does not know and believe this,
may be compared to a person who sees himself in a mirror,
and supposes it is himself that appears there,
and not his image.

AC 5038

. . . temptation is the vastation of what is false,
and a the same time the confirmation of what true.

AC 5007 - Why We Are In this World; AC 5013 - The Spiritual and the Natural

AC 5007 [4]

. . . the fact is that a person is in this world
in order to be initiated by his activities here
into the things which are of heaven . . ..

AC 5013

. . . it is according to order
that the spiritual should rule
and the natural serve;
for the spiritual is prior, interior and higher,
and nearer the Divine;
while the natural is posterior, exterior, and lower,
and more remote from the Divine.
For this reason
the spiritual in a person and in the church
is compared to heaven,
and is also called heaven;
and the natural is compared to earth,
and is also called earth.

~ Moses Reassures Joshua ~

"The Lord Himself goes before you
and will be with you;
He will never leave you nor forsake you.
Do not be afraid;
do not be discouraged."

(Deuteronomy 31:8)
 

AC 4997 - What Good Is, What Evil Is

AC 4997

. . . good is conjunction,
because all good is of love to the Lord
and of love toward the neighbor.
The good of love to the Lord
conjoins the person with the Lord,
and consequently
with all the good which proceeds from Him;
and the good of love toward the neighbor
conjoins him with heaven,
and the societies there;
and therefore by this love also
the person is conjoined with the Lord;
for heaven properly so called is the Lord,
because He is the all in all there.

But with evil the reverse is the case.
Evil is of the love of self and of the love of the world.
The evil of the love of self disjoins the person
not only from the Lord, but also from heaven;
for he loves no one but himself,
others only so far as he regards them in himself,
or so far as they make one with him.

AC 4963 - We Have an External and an Internal

AC 4963 [1-2, 3]

Everyone who is born a person is external and internal;
his external is that which is seen with the eyes,
and by which he is in company with people,
and by which the things proper to the natural world are done;
and the internal is that which is not seen with the eyes,
and by which a person is in company with spirits and angels,
and by which the things proper to the spiritual world are done.
The reason why
every person has an internal and an external,
or is an internal and an external person,
is that through people
there may be a conjunction of heaven with the world;
for heaven flows in
through the internal person into the external,
and thereby perceives what is in the world;
and the external person which is in the world
and from there perceives what is in heaven.
It is to this end that a person has been so created.

In respect to His Human
the Lord also had an external and an internal,
because it pleased Him to be born like other men.
The external (that is, His external man)
was represented by Jacob, and afterward by Israel;
but His internal man is represented by Joseph.

The Lord was indeed born as are other people,
but it is known that he who is born a person
derives what is his from both the father and the mother,
and that he has his inmost from the father,
but his exteriors (that is, the things which clothe this inmost)
from the mother.
Both that which he derives from the father,
and that which he derives from the mother,
are defiled with hereditary evil.
But it was different with the Lord:
that which He derived from the mother in like manner
had in it an heredity such as is that of any other person;
but that which He derived from the Father,
who was Jehovah, was Divine.
For this reason the Lord's internal man
was not like the internal of another person;
for His inmost was Jehovah.
This is therefore the intermediate which is called
the celestial of the spiritual from the rational.
But concerning this,
of the Lord's Divine mercy
more will be said in the following pages.

AC 4956 - The Essence of Charity

AC  4956

The essence of charity toward the neighbor
is the affection of good and truth,
and the acknowledgment of self
as being evil and false;
indeed, the neighbor is good and truth itself,
and to be affected by these is to have charity.

The opposite to the neighbor is evil and falsity,
which are held in aversion by one who has charity.
He therefore who has charity toward the neighbor
is affected by good and truth,
because they are from the Lord,
and holds in aversion what is evil and what is false
because these are from self;
and when he does this,
he is in humiliation from self-acknowledgment,
and when he is in humiliation,
he is in a state of reception
of good and truth from the Lord.

These are the characteristics of charity
which in the internal sense are involved
in these words of the Lord:

"I was hungry, and you gave Me to eat;
I was thirsty, and you gave Me drink;
I was a stranger, and you gathered Me;
naked, and you clothed Me;
I was sick, and you visited Me;
I was in prison, and you came unto Me."
(Matthew 25:35-36)

That these words involve such things,
no one can know except from the internal sense.
The ancients, who had the doctrinals of charity,
knew these things;
but at this day they appear so remote
that everyone will wonder at its being said
that these things are within.
Moreover, the angels who are with a person
perceive these words no otherwise,
for by the "hungry" they perceive those
who from affection desire good;
by the "thirsty," those who from affection desire truth;
by a "stranger," those who are willing to be instructed;
by the "naked," those who acknowledge
that there is nothing of good and of truth in themselves;
by the "sick," those who acknowledge
that in themselves there is nothing but evil;
and by the "bound," or those who are "in prison,"
those who acknowledge
that in themselves there is nothing but falsity.
If these things are reduced into one meaning,
they mean what has been stated just above.

AC 4931 - Heaven and Earth; AC 4932 - Hands, Arms, and Shoulders

AC 4931 - Heaven and Earth

. . . heaven has reference to the Lord,
for the Lord is the all in all of heaven,
 insomuch that heaven is in the proper sense
the Divine good and Divine truth
which are from the Lord.
For this reason
heaven is distinguished into as many provinces,
so to speak,
as there are viscera, organs, and members in a person,
and with these also there is correspondence.
Unless there were such a correspondence
of a person with heaven,
and through heaven with the Lord,
a person would not subsist even a single moment.
All these things are kept in connection by influx.

AC 4932 - Hands, Arms, and Shoulders

Those in the Grand Man
who correspond to the hands and arms,
and also to the shoulders,
are those who have
power by the truth of faith from good.
For those who are in the truth of faith from good
are in the power of the Lord
because they attribute all power to Him,
and none to themselves;
and the more they attribute none to themselves --
not with the lips, but with the heart --
the more they are in power.
From this the angels are called potencies and powers.

 

AC 4918 - The "Womb"; AC 4928, 4930 - Which Is First, Good or Truth?

AC 4918 - The "Womb"

The "womb" in the genuine sense means
the inmost of conjugial love in which is innocence,
because in the Grand Man
the womb corresponds to this love;
and as conjugial love has its origin
from the love of good and truth
which belongs to the heavenly marriage,
and as this marriage is heaven itself,
or the Lord's kingdom,
and as the Lord's kingdom on earth is the church,
therefore the church also is signified by the "womb;"
for the church is where the marriage of good and truth is.

AC 4928, 4930 - Which Is First, Good or Truth?

. . . good is actually prior,
is because during a person's regeneration
good does not appear,
because it conceals itself in the interior person,
and only flows into truth through affection
according to the degrees of conjunction of truth with it.
But when truth has been conjoined with good,
as when a person has been regenerated,
good manifests itself;
for a person then acts from good
and regards truths as from good,
because he is then
more studious of life than of doctrine.

If a person should see the quality of a single thing
as it appears before the angels,
he would be amazed,
and would confess that he would never have believed it,
and that in comparison he had known scarcely anything.

. . . Unless there were light from good
inwardly in a person,
he would never be able to see truths
so as to acknowledge and believe them,
but would look upon them
either as things to be called true
on account of the common people, or else as falsities.

AC 4901 - Earthly Times and Heavenly States; AC 4906 - Good

AC 4901 [2-3] - Earthly Times and Heavenly States

That times mean states is because
times do not exist in the other life.
The progression of the life of spirits and angels
indeed appears as in time;
but they have no thought from times,
as people in the world have;
their thought is from states of the life,
and this without notion of times.
The reason of this is
that the progressions of their life
are not distinguished into different ages,
for there they do not grow old,
and there are no days or years,
because their sun,
which is the Lord,
is always rising and never sets.
Consequently no notion of time enters their thoughts,
but only a notion of state and its progressions --
notions being taken from the things
that are and exist before the senses.

These things must needs seem paradoxical,
but only for the reason
that a person in every idea of his thought
has somewhat adjoined from time and space.
From this source are his memory and recollection,
and also his lower thought,
the ideas of which are called material.
But that memory out of which comes such ideas
is quiescent in the other life.
Those who are in that life are in interior memory,
and in the ideas of its thought;
and thought from this latter memory
has not times and spaces adjoined to it,
but states and their progressions instead.
Consequently it is that they also correspond,
and in consequence of such correspondence
times in the Word signify states.

AC 4906 - Good

. . . good is actually spiritual fire,
from which comes the spiritual heat
which is life-giving,
and evil is the fire and the consequent heat
which consumes. 

AC 4893, 4899 - Light and Shade

AC 4893

. . . the understanding,
which is the sight of the internal person,
has its light and its shade,
and those things fall into its shade
which do not coincide with
what it has had some notion of before.
Yet all these particulars in a series,
together with innumerable things
which cannot even be comprehended by a person,
enter clearly into
the light of the understanding of the angels.

AC 4899

And who knows
that charity toward the neighbor
consists in willing,
and from willing in acting,
and consequently that faith consists in perceiving?
When this is unknown,
and especially when it is denied,
as it is by those who make faith saving
without the works of charity,
into what shade must those things fall
which are here said in the internal sense
concerning the conjunction of what is internal
with the external of the church . . ..
Those who do not know
that charity is the internal
and thus the essential of the church,
stand very remote from the first step
toward the understanding of such things,
and therefore very far from
the innumerable and ineffable things
that are in heaven,
where the things relating to
love to the Lord and love toward the neighbor
are the all of life,
and consequently the all of wisdom and of intelligence.

~ You Must Follow Him ~

It is the Lord your God you must follow,
and Him you must revere.
Keep His commands and obey Him;
serve Him and hold fast to Him.

(Deuteronomy 13:4)

 

AC 4865 - The Internal of the Church

AC 4865 [3]

. . . the internal of the church is
the good of charity,
and the truth of faith in doctrine
and at the same time in life . . ..

 

AC 4858 - Garments of Widowhood; AC 4859 - "And she covered herself in a veil."

AC 4858

And she put off from upon her
the garments of her widowhood.
(Genesis 38:14)

That this means a simulation of the truth that is from good,
is evident from the meaning of a "widow,"
as being those who are in truth without good
and yet desire to be led by good.
The garments with which widows were clothed
represented such truth,
and this because "garments" mean truths.
Consequently "to put off these garments"
is to put off the representation of a widow,
that is, of truth without good;
and because she covered herself with her veil,
to simulate the truth that is from good.

AC 4859 [1-2]

And covered herself in a veil.
(Genesis 38:14)

That this means truth obscured,
is evident from the meaning
of "covering herself" or her face "with her veil,"
as being to conceal,
and thus to obscure the truth
which pretended to be from good . . .
and this for the purpose of conjunction with Judah.
For when a bride first approached the bridegroom
she covered herself with a veil --
as we read of Rebekah
when she came to Isaac (Gen. 24:65);
and by this was meant appearances of truth.
For a wife means truth,
and a husband good;
and as truth does not appear in its quality
until it is being conjoined with its good,
therefore for the sake of representing this
the bride covered herself with a veil
on first seeing her husband.
The case is similar here with Tamar,
for she regarded Shelah Judah's son as her husband,
but because she was not given to him,
she regarded his father in his stead
as one to perform the duty of a husband's brother.
Therefore she covered herself with a veil as a bride,
and not as a harlot,
though Judah believed the latter also were at that time
to cover their faces . . ..
The reason why Judah so regarded her
was that the Jewish nation,
which is there meant by "Judah,"
regarded the internal truths of the representative church
no otherwise than as a harlot;
and therefore Judah
was conjoined with her as with a harlot,
but not so Tamar with him.
Because internal truths
could not appear otherwise to that nation,
therefore truth obscured
is here meant by Tamar's covering herself in a veil.
That the truth of the church is obscured to them,
is represented also at this day
by their covering themselves with veils
in their synagogues.

There was a similar representation with Moses
when the skin of his face shone
as he came down from Mount Sinai,
so that he covered himself with a veil
whenever he spoke to the people
(Exodus 34:28 to the end).
Moses represented the Word which is called the Law . . ..
His veiling his face whenever he spoke to the people
represented that internal truth was covered to them,
and thus obscured
so that they should not have to endure any light from it.

AC 4844 - "Orphans" and "Widows"

AC 4844 [6, 17]

A father of the orphans, and a judge of the widows,
is God in the habitation of His holiness
(Psalm 68:5);

the "orphans" denote those who, like little children,
are in the good of innocence,
but not yet in truth,
whose father is said to be the Lord,
because He leads them as a father,
and this through truth into good,
that is, into the good of life or of wisdom.
"Widows" denote those who as adults are in truth,
but not yet in good,
whose judge is said to be the Lord,
because He leads them,
and this through good into truth,
that is, into the truth of intelligence;
for by a "judge" is meant one who leads.
Good without truth, which is the "orphan,"
becomes the good of wisdom
through the doctrine of truth;
and truth without good, which is the "widow,"
becomes the truth of intelligence
through a life of good.

That this is the meaning of a "widow,"
was known from their doctrinals
to those who were of the Ancient Church;
for their doctrinals were doctrinals of love and charity,
which contained innumerable things
that at this day are wholly obliterated.
From these doctrinals they knew what charity to exercise,
or what duty they owed the neighbor,
thus who were called widows,
who orphans, who sojourners, and so on.
Their knowledges of truth and memory-knowledges
were to know what the rituals of their church
represented and meant;
and those who were learned among them
knew what the things on the earth
and in the world represented;
for they knew
that universal nature was a theater representative
of the heavenly kingdom.
Such things elevated their minds to heavenly things,
and their doctrinals led to life.
But after the church turned aside from charity to faith,
and still more after it separated faith from charity,
and made faith saving without charity and its works,
men's minds could no longer be
elevated by knowledges to heavenly things,
nor by doctrinals be led to life;
and this to such a degree
that at last scarcely anyone believes
that there is any life after death,
and scarcely anyone knows what the heavenly is.
That there is any spiritual sense in the Word
which does not appear in the letter,
cannot be believed.
In this way people's minds have been closed.

~ The Lord Is God ~

Acknowledge and take to heart this day
that the Lord is God in heaven above
and on the earth below.
There is no other.

Keep His decrees and commands,
which I am giving you today,
so that it may go well with you
and your children after you
and that you may live long in the land
the Lord your God give you for all time.

(Deuteronomy 4:39-40)

AC 4843 - Of People vs. Of the Lord

AC 4843 [4, 5]

. . . temptations are nothing else than
vastations, or removals, of falsity and evil . . .

. . . because in the person who is in temptation
evils and falsities are within or are his,
they are said to be of his household --
"a man's foes shall be they of his household."
That temptations are what are thus described
is plain from the Lord's saying
that He came not to send peace upon the earth,
but a sword,
for by a "sword" is meant truth combating,
and in the opposite sense falsity combating.

. . . but it is such things as applicable to a person,
his own (proprium),
which he must forsake;
and the spiritual and celestial things that are of the Lord
which he must receive in their place,
and this by means of temptations,
which are meant by "persecutions."

AC 4835, 4837 - What the Church Is and the Marriage Within

AC 4835 [3]

. . . the church is a church
from the marriage of good and truth;
and when the church is in this marriage
it makes one with heaven,
which is the heavenly marriage itself.

AC 4837 [2, 3]

. . . they were permitted to have more wives than one;
for where there is the conjugial
as understood in a spiritual sense, that is,
where the good and truth of the church are,
consequently where the church is,
this is by no means permitted,
for the genuine conjugial is never possible
except among those
with whom the church
or kingdom of the Lord is,
and not with these except between two.
Marriage between two persons
who are in genuine conjugial love
corresponds to the heavenly marriage,
that is, to the conjunction of good and truth,
the husband corresponding to good,
and the wife to the truth of this good;
moreover, when they are in genuine conjugial love,
they are in this heavenly marriage.
Therefore wherever the church is,
it is never permitted to have more wives than one . . ..

The church is an image of heaven;
for it is the kingdom of the Lord on earth.
Heaven is distinguished into many general societies,
and into lesser ones subordinate to these;
but still they are one through good;
for the truths of faith there
are in agreement according to good;
for they have regard to good, and are from it.
If heaven were distinguished
according to the truths of faith,
and not according to good,
there would be no heaven,
for there would be no unanimity;
for the angels could not have from the Lord
a oneness of life, or one soul.
This is possible only in good,
that is in love to the Lord,
and in love toward the neighbor.
For love conjoins all;
and when everyone has love for good and truth,
they have a common life, which is from the Lord,
and thus have the Lord, who conjoins all.
The love of good and truth
is what is called love toward the neighbor;
for the neighbor is he who is in good and so in truth,
and in the abstract sense is good itself and its truth.
From these things it may be seen
why within the church
marriage must be
between one husband and one wife . . ..

AC 4825, 4827 - Idolatry

AC 4825

For idolatry consists not only in worshiping
idols, graven images, and other gods,
but also in worshiping external things without their internals.

AC 4827 [2]

. . . those who are in the love of self and of the world
are in internal idolatry,
for they worship themselves and the world,
and perform holy ceremonies
for the sake of self-adoration and gain,
that is, for self as an end --
not for the Lord's church and kingdom as an end,
thus not for the Lord.

AC 4809 - His Glory

AC 4809 [1, 2]

When the Son of man shall come in His glory;
(Matthew 25:31)

means when the Divine truth shall appear in its light,
which takes place with every person when he dies,
for he then comes into the light of heaven,
in which he can perceive what is true and good,
and consequently what is his quality.
The "Son of man," in the internal sense of the Word,
is the Lord as to Divine truth,
thus is the Divine truth which is from the Lord.
"Glory" is the intelligence and wisdom derived from there,
which appear as light,
and before the angels as the resplendence of light.
This resplendence of light,
in which are wisdom and intelligence
derived from the Divine truth which is from the Lord,
is what in the Word is called "glory."

And all the holy angels with Him;
(Matthew 25:31)

means the angelic heaven.
The "holy angels" are the truths
which are from the Lord's Divine good;
for by "angels" in the Word are not meant angels,
but those things which are from the Lord;
for the angels are recipients of the life of truth
proceeding from the Lord's Divine good,
and insofar as they receive,
so far they are angels.
From this it is plain that "angels" are these truths.
As the subject here treated of
is the state of everyone after death,
and the judgment of everyone according to his life,
it is said that all the holy angels will be with Him;
and by this is meant
that the judgment will be effected by means of heaven;
for all influx of Divine truth takes place through heaven,
and immediate influx can be received by no one.

 

AC 4805 - The Lord's Heaven Is Immense

 AC 4805

. . . the Lord's heaven is immense,
and it consists of every people and tongue,
and that all are there
who have been in the good of love and of faith . . ..

AC 4788 - Why Joseph Was Sold By the Midianites and Not the Ishmaelites

AC 4788 [2]

It was said above
that Joseph was drawn out of the pit by the Midianites,
but that he was sold to the Ishmaelites;
from which it might seem
that he could have been sold in Egypt
only by the Ishmaelites.
But the reason why he was not sold by the Ishmaelites
but by the Midianites,
is that the Ishmaelites represent
those who are in simple good,
and the Midianites
those who are in the truth of this good.
Joseph, or the Divine truth,
could not be sold by those who are in good,
but only by those who are in truth;
for those who are in good
know from good what Divine truth is,
but not so those who are in truth.

AC 4779 - Sackcloth - Mourning for Destroyed Good; AC 4783 - Knowing the Lord's Mercy

AC 4779 [1, 7-8] - Mourning for Destroyed Good

And put sackcloth upon his loins.
(Genesis 37:34)

That this means mourning for destroyed good,
is evident from the meaning of
"putting sackcloth upon the loins,"
as being a representative of
mourning for destroyed good.
For the "loins" signify conjugial love,
and consequently all celestial and spiritual love,
and this from correspondence;
for as all the organs, members,
and viscera of the human body
correspond to the Grand Man . . .
so also the loins correspond to
those in the Grand Man, or heaven,
who have been in genuine conjugial love;
and as conjugial love is the fundamental of all loves,
therefore by the "loins" is meant in general
all celestial and spiritual love.
From this came the rite
of putting sackcloth on the loins
when they mourned over good destroyed,
for all good is of love.

That sackcloth is predicated of destroyed good,
is also evident in Revelation:

When he opened the sixth seal,
lo there was a great earthquake,
and the sun became black as sackcloth,
and the whole moon became as blood.
(Revelation 6:12)

An "earthquake" denotes a change
of the state of the church as to good and truth;
the "sun" denotes the good of love,
and therefore sackcloth is predicated of it
when it is destroyed;
the "moon" denotes the truth of faith,
of which blood is predicated,
because "blood" is truth falsified and profaned.

As being clothed in sackcloth and rolling in ashes
represented mourning over evils and falsities,
it also represented humiliation,
and likewise repentance;
for the primary thing in humiliation
is to acknowledge that of himself
one is nothing but evil and falsity.
The same is true of repentance,
which is effected solely through humiliation,
and this through the confession of the heart
that of himself one is of such a nature.

AC 4783 [3] - Knowing the Lord's Mercy

. . . it is evident from the true spiritual sense of the Word
that the Lord has mercy toward everyone,
thus that if heaven were of mercy or grace,
regardless of what the life has been,
everyone would be saved.
The reason why those
who are in faith separate so believe
is that they do not at all know what heaven is,
and this because they do not know what charity is.
If they knew how much
peace and joy and happiness there is in charity,
they would know what heaven is . . ..

AC 4776 - Good-will or Ill-will

AC 4776 [2]

For heaven is distinguished from hell in this,
that heaven . . . is doing good from good-will,
and hell is doing evil from ill-will.
Those who are in love toward the neighbor
do good from good-will;
but those who are in the love of self
do evil from ill-will.

AC 4766 - Where Then Is the Church?

AC 4766 [1-2, 4]

And I, whither do I come?
(Genesis 37:30)

That this means Where now is the church
is evident from the representation of Reuben
as being the faith of the church in general;
and as Reuben says of himself,
"and I, whither do I come?"
it means "Where now is the faith of the church,"
or what is the same, "Where now is the church?"
That there is no church
where the heavenly Joseph is not
(that is, the Lord as to Divine truth,
specifically as to the Divine truth
that the Lord's Human is Divine,
and that charity is the essential of the church
and consequently the works of charity)
may be seen from what has been shown in this chapter
concerning both these truths.

If this Divine truth
that the Lord's Human is Divine
is not received,
it necessarily follows that a trine should be adored,
and not one;
and also that half of the Lord, namely, His Divine,
should be adored, but not His Human;
for who adores what is not Divine?

If also this Divine truth is not received
both in doctrine and in life --
that love toward the neighbor, or charity,
and consequently the works of charity,
are an essential of the church,
it necessarily follows
that it is of the church to think what is true,
but not to think what is good;
and thus that the thought of the people of the church
may be in contradiction and opposition to itself;
that is, may think what is evil
and at the same time may think what is true;
thus may by thinking evil be with the devil,
and by thinking truth be with the Lord;
when yet truth and evil do not at all agree, for

"No servant can serve two lords,
for either he will hate the one and love the other."
(Luke 16:13).

When faith separate establishes this,
and also confirms it in life,
no matter how it may speak of the fruits of faith,
where then is the church?

AC 4748 - Camels and Spices

AC 4748 [1-2]

With their camels bearing spices and balsam and stacte.
(Genesis 37:25)


That this signifies interior natural truths,
is evident from the meaning of "camels,"
as being in general
those things of the natural person that serve the spiritual,
and specifically general memory-knowledges
in the natural person;
and from the meaning of "spices, balsam, and stacte,"
as being interior natural truths
conjoined with good in the natural person.
In the holy worship of the ancients
use was made of sweet smelling and fragrant things,
among which were their frankincense and incenses;
and the like things were also mixed with the oils
with which they were anointed.
But the origin of this practice is at this day unknown,
because it is entirely unknown
that the things which were used
in the worship of the ancients
originated in spiritual and celestial things
which are in the heavens,
and corresponded to them.
Mankind has so far removed himself
from the things of heaven,
and plunged into natural, worldly, and bodily things,
that he is in obscurity,
and many are in the negative,
as to the existence of anything spiritual or celestial.

The reason why frankincense and incenses
were used in sacred rites among the ancients,
is that odor corresponds to perception,
and a fragrant odor,
such as that of spices of various kinds,
to a grateful and pleasing perception,
such as is that of truth from good, or of faith from charity.
Indeed the correspondence is such that in the other life,
whenever it is the good pleasure of the Lord,
perceptions themselves are changed into odors.
. . . In general they mean interior truths in the natural,
but such as are from good therein;
for truths by themselves do not make the natural,
but good by truths.
Consequently its varieties are according to the quality
of the truth conjoined with good,
consequently according to the quality of the good;
for good has its quality from truths.
__________

stacte - a sweet spice

 

AC 4747 - Joseph, the Midianites and the Ishmaelites

AC 4747 [2, 3]

Those who are within the church
and have confirmed themselves against Divine truths,
especially against these --
that the Lord's Human is Divine,
and that the works of charity contribute to salvation --
if they have confirmed themselves against them,
not only by doctrine but also by life,
they have reduced themselves
to such a state as to their interiors
that afterwards
they cannot possibly be brought to receive them,
for what is once confirmed by doctrine,
and at the same time by life, remains to eternity.
Those who do not know the interior state of a person
may suppose that anyone,
no matter how he has confirmed himself
against these truths,
can yet easily accept them afterwards,
provided he is convinced.
. . . For whatever is confirmed by doctrine
is absorbed by the intellectual part,
and what is confirmed by life is absorbed by the will part;
and that which is inrooted in both lives of a person,
the life of his understanding and the life of his will,
cannot be rooted out.
The very soul of a person which lives after death
is formed thereby,
and is of such a nature that it never recedes from that.
This is also the reason why
the lot of those within the church
with whom this is the case,
is worse than the lot of those who are out of the church;
for those who are out of the church,
who are called Gentiles,
have not confirmed themselves against these truths,
because they have not known them;
and therefore such of them as have lived in mutual charity,
easily receive Divine truths,
if not in the world,
yet in the other life.

For this reason
when any new church is being set up by the Lord,
it is not set up with those who are within the church,
but with those who are without, that is, with the Gentiles.
These things are often treated of in the Word.
This much is premised
in order that it may be known what is involved
in Joseph's being cast into the pit by his brethren,
and in his being drawn out from there by the Midianites,
and sold to the Ishmaelites.
For by Joseph's brothers
are represented those within the church
who have confirmed themselves against Divine truth,
especially against the two truths,
that the Lord's Human is Divine,
and that works of charity contribute to salvation,
and this not only by doctrine, but also by life;
while by the Ishmaelites are represented
those who are in simple good,
and by the Midianites
those who are in the truth of this good.
It is related of the latter
that they drew Joseph out of the pit;
and of the former that they bought him.
But what is meant by their bringing him into Egypt,
and their selling him to Potiphar, Pharaoh's chamberlain,
will be shown in what follows.

AC 4741 - Seeing What Is True; AC 4742 - The Tunic of Various Colors

AC 4741 [3] - Seeing What Is True

. . . nothing is less the part of a wise person,
indeed nothing is less rational,
than to be able to confirm falsities;
for it is the part of a wise person and it is rational,
first to see that a thing is true,
and then to confirm it.
In fact to see what is true
is to see from the light of heaven,
which is from the Lord;
but to see what is false as true
is to see from a fatuous light, which is from hell.

AC 4742 - The Tunic of Various Colors

. . . in the other life,
where there is no other light than that which comes
through heaven from the Lord,
and which comes forth from His Divine truth;
for this before the eyes of angels appears as light.
This light is varied with everyone
according to the reception.

When this light passes from heaven
into the world of spirits,
 it is there presented
under the appearance of various colors,
which in beauty, variety, and loveliness
immeasurably surpass the colors
which are from the light of the world.
As the colors in the other life are from this source,
they are in their origin
nothing else than appearances of truth from good.
For truth does not shine from itself,
because there is nothing flaming in it alone;
but it shines from good,
for good is like a flame which gives forth light.
Such therefore as the good is,
such does the truth from it appear;
and such as the truth is,
in such a manner does it shine from good.
From this it is evident
what is meant in the internal sense
by the tunic of various colors, namely,
the quality of appearances as to truths from good;
for by Joseph, to whom the tunic belonged,
is represented Divine truth, as before shown.

AC 4731, 4735 - The Lord's Divine Human, the Church and the Angels

AC 4731 [1, 2]   

. . . the church which begins from faith
would cease to be a church
unless this Divine truth remained in it --
that the Lord's Human is Divine,
for this is the supreme or inmost truth of the church.

This supreme or inmost truth,
that the Lord's Human is Divine,
is denied by those in the church who are in faith alone;
and yet because they know from the Word
that in the Lord there is the Divine,
and do not apprehend how the Human can be Divine,
they therefore attribute both to the Lord,
making a distinction between
His Divine nature and His Human nature.
Those however who are in a life of faith, or in charity,
adore the Lord as their God and Savior;
and when in adoration,
they think of the Lord's Divine
without separating it from the Human,
and thus at heart
acknowledge all in the Lord to be Divine.
But when they think from doctrine,
because they likewise cannot comprehend
how the Human can be Divine,
they speak according to their doctrine.

AC 4735 [2]

The Lord's Human,
after it was glorified or made Divine,
cannot be thought of as human,
but as the Divine love in human form;
and this so much the more than the angels,
who, when they appear. . .
appear as forms of love and charity
under the human shape,
and this from the Lord;
for the Lord from Divine love made His Human Divine;
just as a person through heavenly love
becomes an angel after death,
so that he appears, as just said,
as a form of love and charity under the human shape.
It is plain from this
that by the Lord's Divine Human,
in the celestial sense is meant the Divine love itself,
which is love toward the whole human race,
in that it wills to save them
and to make them blessed and happy to eternity,
and to make its Divine their own
so far as they can receive it.

AC 4726 - When the Word Is Open to the Internal Sense; AC 4727 - The Lord's Divine Human; AC 4729 - Three Sources of Falsity

AC 4726 - When the Word is Open to the Internal Sense

But because Divine truth as to its essentials
is rejected by those who are in faith alone . . .
to such persons falsities appear as truths,
and truths as falsities,
or if not as falsities, yet as empty things . . ..
That Divine truths appear to such persons as empty,
is evident from many things --
as for example, it is a Divine truth
that the Word is holy and Divinely inspired as to every jot,
and that its holiness and Divine inspiration
are in consequence of everything in it
being representative and significative (symbolic)
of heavenly and spiritual things of the Lord's kingdom.
But when the Word is open to the internal sense,
and it is taught what its particulars represent and mean,
then such as are in faith alone
reject these things as empty,
saying that they are of no use;
although these heavenly and spiritual things
are what would affect
the internal person with greater delight
than worldly things affect the external person;
and so in many other instances.

AC 4727 [2] - The Lord's Divine Human

. . . it is plain how greatly those err
who make the Lord's Human, after it was glorified,
to be like the human of a man, when yet it is Divine.
From His Divine Human proceeds all the wisdom,
all the intelligence, and also all the light, in heaven.
Whatever proceeds from Him is holy . . ..

AC 4729 - Three Sources of Falsity

For there are three sources of falsity,
one the doctrine of the church,
another the fallacy of the senses,
and the third a life of cupidities (greeds).
That which is from the doctrine of the church
takes hold of a person's intellectual part only;
for he is persuaded from infancy that it is so,
and confirmatory things afterwards strengthen it.
But that which is from the fallacy of the senses
does not so much affect the intellectual part;
for those who are in falsity from the fallacy of the senses
have but little insight from the understanding,
because they think from lower and sensuous things.
But the falsity which is from a life of cupidities
springs from the will itself,
or what is the same, from the heart;
for what a person wills from the heart, he desires.
This falsity is the worst of all,
because it inheres, and is not eradicated
except by new life from the Lord.

AC 4723 - Two Principal Things of Doctrine

AC 4723

There are two essentials which constitute the church,
and so two principal things of doctrine --
one, that the Lord's Human is Divine;
the other, that love to the Lord
and charity toward the neighbor make the church,
and not faith separate from love and charity.
Because these are the primary things of Divine truth,
these also are represented by Joseph;
for the same person that represents Divine truth in general,
represents also the specific things of Divine truth;
but what is specifically represented,
is evident from the series.

AC 4710 - "To Be Sent"; AC 4715 - The Natural and Sensuous Divine & Our Reception of Him

AC 4710 - "To Be Sent"

That in the internal sense "to be sent"
is to proceed and to teach,
is evident from many passages in the Word,
as where it is often said of the Lord
that He was "sent" by the Father,
whereby is meant that He proceeded from Him,
that is, from the Divine good;
and also that the Lord "sends"
the Comforter, or the Spirit of Truth,
whereby is meant that holy truth proceeds from Him.
The prophets also were "sent,"
by which is meant
that they taught what proceeds from the Lord.
Everyone may confirm these things from the Word,
where they often occur.

AC 4715 [1-2] - The Natural and Sensuous Divine & Our Reception of Him

And he sent him out of the valley of Hebron.
(Genesis 37:14)

That this means from the natural and sensuous Divine,
is evident from the meaning of "to be sent,"
as being to proceed and to teach;
and from the meaning of a "valley"
as being those things which are below;
and from the meaning of "Hebron"
as being the Lord's church as to good.
So by these words is meant
that it taught the lower things of the church,
and this because they did not comprehend higher things.
For he who teaches faith, and not charity,
is unable to notice
the higher or interior things of the church;
because he has nothing to guide him,
and to dictate whether this or that is of faith, or is true.
But if he teaches charity, he then has good,
and this is to him a dictate and guides him;
for all truth is from good and treats of good,
or what is the same,
everything of faith is from charity and treats of charity.
Everyone, from mere natural light,
can know that everything of doctrine has regard to life.

That by these words is meant
from the natural and sensuous Divine, is the higher sense;
for the lower things of the church
are said to be from the Lord's natural and sensuous Divine;
not that in the Lord these things are lower,
because in the Lord and in His Divine Human all is infinite,
inasmuch as He is Jehovah as to each essence,
but because it is so in a person.
For those who are sensuous people
apprehend sensuously the things
which are in the Lord and from Him,
and those who are natural apprehend them naturally.
It is so said because of the quality of those who receive.
But those who are celestial people,
and thence truly rational, perceive interior things,
and it is said of them
that they are taught from the Lord's rational Divine.
This as before said
is the higher sense signified by the words.

AC 4689, 4692 - The Lord's Human Is Divine

AC 4689 [2]

Not a single person from the Christian world knew
that the Lord's Human is Divine;
and scarcely anyone knew
that He alone rules heaven and the universe,
still less that His Divine Human is the all in heaven.
That this is so, could not be openly revealed,
because it was foreseen by the Lord
that the Christian Church
would turn away from charity to faith,
consequently would separate itself from Him,
and so not only reject but also profane
the holy which is from His Divine Human;
for faith separate from charity cannot do otherwise.

AC 4692 [5]

The Lord was indeed born as is another man,
and had an infirm human from the mother;
but this human the Lord entirely cast out,
so that He was no longer the son of Mary,
and made the Human in Himself Divine,
which is meant by His being glorified;
and He also showed to Peter, James, and John,
when He was transfigured,
that He was a Divine Man.

AC 4682 - "And Joseph Dreamed a Dream"

AC 4682

And Joseph dreamed a dream.
(Genesis 37:5)

'And Joseph dreamed a dream'
means a declaration concerning Himself.
This is clear from the meaning
of 'dreaming a dream' as to preach;
And because the dream has to do with Joseph,
a declaration concerning
the Lord's Divine Human is meant.
The reason why 'a dream' here means a preaching
is that Joseph's two dreams contain in summary form
all that was foreseen and provided concerning Joseph.
This in the internal sense means
that which was foreseen and provided
regarding Divine Truth within the kind of Church
represented by 'Joseph's brothers',
that is, the kind that starts out from faith.
What is more,
Divine Truths were made known in ancient times
either through the spoken word,
or through visions, or through dreams,
followed by declarations made on the basis of these.
Consequently by 'prophets' in the Word -
to whom Divine truth was made known
either through the spoken word,
or through visions, or through dreams -
are meant teachers of truths,
and in the abstract sense the truths of doctrine.

AC 4681 - "To Speak for Peace"

AC 4681 - "To Speak for Peace"

For to "speak for peace"
means to wish anyone well,
inasmuch as by "peace"
the ancients understood in the supreme sense
the Lord Himself,
in the internal sense
His kingdom and life therein, or salvation,
but in the external sense
safety or health in the world.
The contrary of this is not to be able
to speak for peace to anyone,
that is, not to wish him well,
thus to be averse to,
here to Divine truth.

AC 4680 - The Ancient Church

 AC 4680 [2]

The Ancient Church
which was set up by the Lord after the flood
was a representative church,
and was of such a nature
that all and each of its externals of worship
represented the celestial and spiritual things
of the Lord's kingdom,
and in the supreme sense
the Divine things themselves of the Lord;
but all and each of its internals of worship
bore relation to charity.
This church was spread over
a large part of the Asiatic world,
and through many kingdoms there;
and although there were differences among them
as to doctrinal things of faith,
still the church was one,
because all in every part of it
made charity the essential of the church.
Those who at that time
separated faith from charity,
and made faith the essential of the church
were called "Ham."
But in course of time this church turned away to idolatry,
and in Egypt, Babylon, and other places, to magic;
for they began to worship
external things without the internal;
and as they thus receded from charity,
heaven also receded from them,
and in its place came spirits from hell who led them.

AC 4669 - Joseph

AC 4669

Joseph.
(Genesis 37:2)

That this means the Lord's Divine spiritual Human,
is evident from the representation of Joseph,
as being in the supreme sense
the Lord as to the Divine spiritual.
That the Lord is represented by Joseph
is known in the church,
for when the heavenly Joseph is spoken of,
no one else is thought of;
but what of the Lord is represented by Joseph
is not so well known,
for it is the Divine spiritual
which proceeds from His Divine Human.
The Divine spiritual which proceeds
from the Lord's Divine Human
is the Divine truth
which is from Him in heaven and in the church.
The spiritual in its essence is nothing else.
The Divine spiritual, or Divine truth,
is also what is called the Lord's royalty,
and it is likewise signified by the Christ,
or the Messiah.
For this reason Joseph was made as it were
a king in Egypt,
that he might then represent
what is of the Lord's royalty.

AC 4652 - Thought and Speech

AC 4652

The thought of a person who is speaking
is nothing but the speech of his spirit,
and the perception of the speech
is nothing but the hearing of his spirit.
When a person is speaking,
his thought does not indeed appear to him as speech,
because it conjoins itself
with the speech of his body,
and is in it;
and when a person hears,
his perception appears merely like hearing in the ear.
This is the reason why most persons
who have not reflected
know no otherwise
than that all sense is in the organs of the body,
and consequently
that when these organs fall to decay by death,
nothing of sense survives,
whereas the person (that is, his spirit)
then comes into his truest life of sensation.

AC 4622 - Our Interior Essence

AC 4622 [2-3]

If people would only believe
that their interior essence is the spirit,
and that the body and its sensations and members
are adapted merely to uses in this world,
and that the spirit and its sensations and organs
are adapted to uses in the other life,
then from themselves
and almost of their own accord
they would come into ideas
about the state of their spirit after death;
for they would reflect
that the spirit must be the person himself
who thinks,
and who desires, longs for things,
and is affected with them;
and further that all the power of sensation
which appears in the body
belongs properly to the spirit,
and to the body merely by influx;
and they would afterwards
confirm themselves in this idea
by many considerations,
and in this way would at last take more delight
in the things of their spirit than in those of their body.

It is also a real fact that it is not a person's body
which sees, hears, smells, and feels, but his spirit;
and therefore when the spirit is divested of the body,
it is in its own sensations,
the same as when it was in the body,
only now far more exquisite . . ..

AC 4619 - "Gathered to his peoples"; AC 4621 - "Burial"

AC 4619 - "Gathered to his people"

When anyone died
the ancients said that "he was gathered to his peoples,"
and thereby meant in the proximate sense
that he was among his own in the other life.
For during his bodily life
every person is as to his spirit
in company with spirits and angels,
and also comes among the same after death.
This is what was meant by the "peoples"
to whom he is gathered.
But in the internal sense of the Word,
where the goods and truths of the church
or of the Lord's kingdom are treated of,
by "being gathered to one's people"
is meant to be among the truths and goods
which agree or correspond.
All the heavenly societies are in truths and goods,
but as the truths and goods there are related
as by the relationships and connections of earth,
with every shade of difference),
therefore their "peoples" are the truths
in which are the concordant societies,
or the societies which are in these truths.

AC 4621 - "Burial"

. . . when "burial" is mentioned in the Word
the angels do not think of the body which is cast off,
but of the soul which rises again;
for they are in spiritual ideas,
thus in the things that belong to life;
and therefore all things
that belong to death in the natural world,
mean such things as belong to life in the spiritual world.
__________

concordant = in agreement or consistent

A Change in the Series of Jacob's Twelve Sons

AC 4601 [4]

. . . in what presently follows
truths and goods are treated of in their genuine order,
and directly afterwards
their conjunction with the rational or intellectual.
The sons of Jacob presently named
are truths and goods in genuine order,
and Isaac is the rational or intellectual.
The coming of Jacob and his sons to Isaac,
is in the internal sense
this conjunction with the intellectual.

AC 4604

The sons of Leah.
(Genesis 35:23)

That this means
external Divine goods and truths in their order,
is evident from the representation of Leah,
as being the affection of external truth.
Hence her "sons" are the goods and truths
represented by Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah,
Issachar, and Zebulun, of which in what follows.

AC 4605

Reuben Jacob's firstborn.
(Genesis 35:23)

"Reuben" in the genuine sense means the truth of faith;
but after the truth of faith has been made good,
he signifies the good of faith.
Moreover, regarded in itself
faith is charity,
and thus regarded in itself
the truth of faith is the good of faith,
because faith is impossible except from charity,
that is, truth is impossible except from good;
and therefore when a person has been regenerated,
good is in the first place, or is the firstborn.

AC 4606

And Simeon, and Levi, and Judah,
and Issachar, and Zebulun.
(Genesis 35:23)

That these signify the essential things . . .
of the external Divine goods and truths,
is evident from the representation of each one;
namely, of Simeon,
as being in the supreme sense Providence,
in the internal sense faith in the will,
and in the external sense obedience;
of Levi as being in the supreme sense Love and Mercy,
in the internal sense charity or spiritual love,
and in the external sense conjunction;
of Judah, as being in the supreme sense
the Divine of the Lord's love,
in the internal sense the Lord's celestial kingdom,
and in the exterior sense that doctrine from the Word
which is of the celestial church;
of Issachar, as being in the supreme sense
the Divine good of truth and truth of good,
in the internal sense celestial conjugial love,
and in the external sense mutual love;
and from the representation of Zebulun,
as being in the supreme sense
the Lord's Divine Itself and His Divine Human,
in the internal sense the heavenly marriage,
and in the external sense conjugial love.
These are the essential things which are in
the external Divine goods and truths of the Lord,
but no one can unfold
how each of these is within them
unless he is in heavenly light,
for therein these things appear
like the answers given in the Urim and Thummim
by means of flashings out of light and flame,
and a consequent perception from the Lord.
For in the Urim and Thummim
there were twelve precious stones
according to the twelve tribes of Israel.

AC 4607

The sons of Rachel, Joseph and Benjamin.
(Genesis 35:24)

That these mean interior goods and truths,
is evident from the representation of Rachel,
as being the affection of interior truth,
hence the "sons of Rachel" are interior goods and truths.
The essential things of these
are represented by Joseph and Benjamin;
by Joseph in the supreme sense the Divine spiritual,
in the internal sense the spiritual kingdom,
and in the external sense its good;
and by Benjamin the Divine spiritual of the celestial.
These essential things are within interior goods and truths.

AC 4608

And the sons of Bilhah Rachel's handmaid,
Dan and Naphtali.
(Genesis 35:25)

That these mean subsequent things
that are of service to interior goods and truths,
is evident from the representation of Bilhah
Rachel's handmaid
as being the subsequent affection
that is of service as a means
to the affection of interior truth.
Moreover, a "handmaid" denotes
a means that serves for conjunction,
and her "sons" denote such means.
By subsequent goods and truths are meant
those goods and truths that do not enter in immediately,
but which are derived from such as do,
and are adjoined to them as handmaids,
and which also mediate and promote.
Their essential things
are represented by Dan and Naphtali;
by Dan in the supreme sense
the Lord's righteousness and mercy,
in the internal sense the holy of faith,
and in the external sense the good of life;
and by Naphtali,
in the supreme sense His own power,
in the internal sense
temptation in which there is victory,
and in the external sense
resistance from the natural person.
These are the essential things of the means
that are of service to interior goods and truths.

AC 4609

And the sons of Zilpah Leah's handmaid,
Gad and Asher.
(Genesis 35:26)

That this means those
which are of service to exterior goods and truths,
is evident from the representation of Zilpah
Leah's handmaid,
as being the subsequent affection
that is of service as a means
to the affection of exterior truth.
A "handmaid" denotes a means
that is of service for conjunction (as just above, n. 4608),
and her "sons" denote such means,
the essential things of which
are represented by Gad and Asher;
by Gad in the supreme sense
omnipotence and omniscience,
in the internal sense the good of faith,
and in the external sense works;
by Asher in the supreme sense eternity,
in the internal sense the happiness of eternal life,
and in the external sense the delight of the affection.

These are the things
which the enumeration
of the sons of Jacob at this time involves;
but how they cohere together and one follows another,
and one is contained within another,
cannot be seen in the light of the world
unless it is enlightened by the light of heaven.
Yet the things which then appear
are still such as not to fall into words,
for human words are from ideas formed
from the things which are in the light of the world.
The ideas which are from the light of heaven
transcend these to such a degree
that they cannot be expressed,
but only to some extent thought of
by those to whom it has been given
to withdraw their mind from things of sense.

AC 4598 - Advancing Toward Interior Things

AC 4598
 
An advancement toward interior things
is an advancement toward heaven and the Lord
by means of the knowledges of truth
implanted in the affection of them,
thus by means of affections.

AC 4592 - The Lord, Joseph and Benjamin

AC 4592 [2-6]

. . . no one can have an idea of
the good which is represented by Joseph,
and of the truth which is represented by Benjamin,
except the person
who is enlightened by the light of heaven.
The angels have a clear idea of them,
because all the ideas of their thought
are from the light of heaven which is from the Lord,
in which they see and perceive unlimited things
which a person cannot possibly comprehend,
still less utter.
As an illustration take the following.

All people whatever are born natural,
with the power of becoming either celestial or spiritual;
but the Lord alone was born spiritual celestial,
and for this reason He was born at Bethlehem,
where is the boundary of the land of Benjamin,
for by "Bethlehem" is meant the spiritual of the celestial,
and by Benjamin is represented
the spiritual of the celestial.
The reason why the Lord alone
was born spiritual celestial
is that the Divine was in Him.
These things cannot possibly be comprehended
by anyone who is not in the light of heaven;
for he who is in the light of the world,
and has his perception therefrom,
scarcely knows what truth is and what good is,
still less what it is to ascend through degrees
to the interior things of truth and good;
thus he is in complete ignorance
of those innumerable things of truth and good
in every degree which are clear
before the angels as in noonday light.
So it is evident of what the nature is
of the wisdom of angels relatively to that of people.

There are six names
which frequently occur in the prophets
where the church is treated of, namely,
"Judah," "Joseph," "Benjamin,"
"Ephraim," "Israel," and "Jacob."
He who does not know
what of the good and truth of the church
is meant by each one of these in the internal sense
cannot possibly know anything
of the Divine arcana of the Word there.
Nor can he know what of the church is meant,
unless he knows what the celestial is which is "Judah,"
what the celestial of the spiritual is which is "Joseph,"
what the spiritual of the celestial is which is "Benjamin,"
what the intellectual of the church is which is "Ephraim,"
what the internal spiritual is which is "Israel,"
and what the external spiritual is which is "Jacob."

As regards Benjamin specifically,
as he represents the spiritual of the celestial,
and Joseph the celestial of the spiritual,
and thus both together
the intermediate between
the celestial and the spiritual person,
and as they are consequently most closely conjoined,
therefore also their conjunction is described
in the history of Joseph as follows:

Joseph told his brethren
that they must bring their youngest brother,
lest they should die.
(Gen. 42:20)

When they returned with Benjamin,
and Joseph saw Benjamin his brother,
he said, Is this your youngest brother?
And he said, God be gracious unto thee, my son.
And Joseph made haste,
for his bowels did yearn toward his brother;
and he sought where to weep,
and he therefore entered into his chamber,
and wept there.
(Gen. 43:29-30)

He multiplied Benjamin's portion fivefold
above the portions of them all.
(Gen. 43:34)

After he had made himself known to his brethren,
he fell upon his brother Benjamin's necks and wept;
and Benjamin wept upon his necks.
(Gen. 45:14)

He gave changes of garments to them all,
but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver,
and five changes of garments.
(Gen. 45:22)

From all this it is evident that Joseph and Benjamin
were most closely conjoined,
not because they were of one mother,
but because by them is represented
the spiritual conjunction which exists between
the good which is "Joseph"
and the truth which is "Benjamin,"
and because both are intermediate
between the celestial and the spiritual people.
For this reason
Joseph could not be conjoined with his brothers,
nor with his father,
except by means of Benjamin,
for without an intermediate
no conjunction is possible,
and this was the reason why
Joseph did not reveal himself sooner.

AC 4585 - Four Basic Terms; AC 4588 - "Midwife"

AC 4585 [4]

. . . (as) we have no terms more adequate for expressing
exterior things than the term natural,
for interior things than the term rational,
for those things which are of truth the term spiritual,
and those which are of good the term celestial,
it is absolutely necessary to make use of these terms,
for without terms adapted to the subject
nothing can be described.

AC 4588 - "Midwife"

That the midwife said unto her, Fear not.
(Genesis 35:17)

The reason why "midwife" here denotes the natural
is that when interior temptations are being undergone,
that is, when the interior person
is undergoing temptations,
the natural is then like a midwife;
for unless the natural affords aid,
it is impossible for any birth of interior truth to take place;
for when interior truths are born,
it is the natural which receives them into its bosom,
because it affords the opportunity
for them to work their way out.
It is always the case with the things of spiritual birth,
that their reception must be wholly in the natural;
and this is the reason why
when a person is being regenerated,
the natural is first prepared to receive;
and insofar as this is made receptive,
so far interior truths and goods
can be brought forth and multiplied.

AC 4580 - "Pillars," a History

AC 4580

And Jacob set up a pillar
in the place in which He spoke with him,
a pillar of stone.
(Genesis 35:14)

. . . the meaning of a "pillar," as being the holy of truth . . ..

The pillars set up in ancient times were either for a sign, or for a witness, or for worship. Those for worship were anointed, and were then holy, and worship was also held there, thus in temples, in groves, in forests under the trees, and in other places. This ritual derived its representation from the fact that in the most ancient times stones were set up on the boundaries between families of nations, lest they should pass over the boundaries to do one another evil (as for instance in the case of Laban and Jacob, Gen. 31:52). That they should not pass the boundaries to do evil was to them a law of nations. And as the stones were on the boundaries, when the most ancient people (who in everything on the earth saw a corresponding celestial and spiritual thing) saw these stones as boundaries, they thought about the truths which are the ultimates of order. But their descendants, who beheld in objects less of what is spiritual and celestial, and more of what is worldly, began to think of them with sanctity merely from the veneration derived from old time. And at last the descendants of the most ancient people who lived immediately before the flood, and who no longer saw anything spiritual and celestial in earthly and worldly things regarded as objects, began to regard these stones as holy, pouring drink-offerings upon them, and anointing them with oil; and they were then called "pillars," and were used for worship.

This remained after the flood in the Ancient Church, which was representative, but with the difference that the pillars served these people as a means for attaining to internal worship; for the infants and children were instructed by their parents in regard to what they represented, and were thus brought to know holy things, and to be affected with the things which the pillars represented. It is for this reason that the ancients had pillars for worship in their temples, groves, and forests, and upon hills and mountains. But when the internal of worship altogether perished with the Ancient Church, and they began to hold the externals as holy and Divine, and thus to worship them idolatrously, they then erected pillars for their several gods. And as the posterity of Jacob were most prone to idolatrous things, they were forbidden to erect pillars, and also to have groves, and even to hold any worship upon mountains and hills; but they were to be gathered together to one place, where the ark was, and afterwards where the temple was, thus to Jerusalem; otherwise each family would have had its own externals and idols that they would have worshiped, and consequently a representative of a church could not have been instituted with that nation.

AC 4572 - The Cause of Joy & Consolation; AC 4574 - Honorable & Becoming; AC 4575 - Truths Coming from the Lord's Divine Human

  AC 4572 [2] - The Cause of Joy & Consolation

Be it known in general
that all the conjunction of good with truth
is effected by means of temptations,
the reason of which is that evils and falsities
offer resistance and as it were rebel,
and strive in every possible way to prevent
the conjunction of good with truth
and of truth with good.
This combat takes place
between the spirits who are with the person,
namely, between the spirits who are in evils and falsities,
and those who are in goods and truths,
and is perceived by the person
as a temptation within himself.
When therefore the spirits who are in evils and falsities
are conquered by the spirits who are in goods and truths,
and are compelled to depart,
the latter have joy through heaven from the Lord,
and this joy is perceived by the person as consolation,
and as in himself.
But the joy and consolation are not on account of victory,
but on account of the conjunction of good and truth;
for all conjunction of good and truth has joy within itself,
because this conjunction is the heavenly marriage
within which is the Divine.

AC 4574 [3] - Honorable & Becoming

What is honorable
is to will well to others from the heart
in the affairs of civil life,
and what is becoming
is to testify this in speech and gesture.

AC 4575 - Truths Coming from the Lord's Divine Human

Truths from the Divine marriage
are those which proceed from the Lord's Divine Human,
and are called holy,
for the Lord's Divine Human is the Divine marriage itself,
and the things which proceed from it are holy,
and are called celestial and spiritual,
and effect the heavenly marriage,
which is truth conjoined with good,
and good conjoined with truth.
This marriage exists in heaven,
and in everyone who is in heaven,
and also in everyone who is in the church,
provided he is in good and at the same time in truth.

AC 4554 - "Journeyed"; AC 4559 - "El-Bethel"

AC 4554 - "Journeyed"

And they journeyed.
(Genesis 35:5)

That this means what is continuous,
is evident from the meaning of "journeying,"
as being what is successive,
thus what is continuous,
namely, of progression toward interior things.

AC 4559 - "El-Bethel"

And called the place El-Bethel.
(Genesis 35:7)

That this means a holy natural,
is evident from the meaning of "Bethel,"
as being the Divine natural;
but when it is called "El-Bethel"
it is not the Divine, but a holy, natural;
for when the Lord made His Human Divine,
He first made it holy.
Between making it Divine and making it holy
there is this difference --
that what is Divine is Jehovah Himself,
but what is holy is from Jehovah.
The former is the Divine being,
but the latter is what comes forth from there.
When the Lord glorified Himself,
He made his Human also the Divine being, or Jehovah;
but before He did this,
He made His Human holy.
Such was the process
of the glorification of the Lord's Human . . ..