AC 3131 - truth & apparent truth

AC 3131[3]
For no truth in its earliest stages is the actual truth
but an appearance of truth.
In the course of time however it sheds the cloak of appearance
and puts on the real essence of truth.
To make this intelligible it can be illustrated by examples,
for the moment by this alone:
It is a Divine truth that the Lord is never angry,
never punishes anyone, let alone does evil to anyone,
and that from the Lord nothing but good ever comes.
Nevertheless in its earliest stages
this truth declares that the Lord is angry when someone sins,
and that the Lord therefore punishes;
indeed with some people it declares that evil comes from the Lord.
But as a person progresses from early childhood, grows up,
and matures in judgement
he casts away that which from the appearance
seemed to him to be the truth
and gradually takes up the truth itself,
which is that the Lord is never angry and does not punish,
let alone perform evil.
Accordingly it is by means of apparent truth
that a person is introduced into actual truth;
for it is a general concept that enters first, which in itself is obscure,
containing scarcely anything that is to be seen
until it has been enlightened by means of particular ideas,
and these in turn by specific details.
And once it has been enlightened interior things can be seen.
In this way the delusions and appearances
which are truths at the time of ignorance
are dispersed and banished.

SD 4340 - What is Meant by Father, Son, and Holy Spirit

SD 4340
The Lord commanded [the disciples] to baptize
in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit;
these titles, in the internal sense,
signify nothing else than the Good, the True,
and the all of Goodness and Truth consequently resulting.
The Father is the Good,
the Son the True,
and the Holy Spirit is the Good and the True
proceeding from them.
All this is in the Lord alone.
(August 5, 1749)

AC 3118 - bending and bowing

AC 3118
The man bent himself, and bowed himself down to Jehovah.
(Genesis 24:26)
That this signifies gladness and joy,
is evident from the signification of "bending himself,"
and of "bowing himself down,"
as denoting to be glad and to rejoice.
Bending and bowing down are gestures of humiliation,
that is, they are humiliation in act,
whether in a state of grief or in a state of joy
- in a state of grief when that which is wished for does not come to pass,
but in a state of joy when it does come to pass. . .;
The term "gladness" is used, and also "joy,"
for the reason that in the Word 

"gladness" is predicated of truth,
and "joy" of good.
Moreover gladness is of the countenance,
but joy of the heart; or what is the same, 

gladness is of spiritual affection or of truth,
but joy is of celestial affection or of good;
thus gladness is in a degree less than joy,
as bending is likewise less than bowing down;
which is also evident from the fact
that the person of the spiritual church
merely bends himself before the Lord,
and invokes grace;
whereas the person of the celestial church
bows himself down before the Lord and implores mercy.
Both terms are used by reason 

of the marriage of truth and good
in every single thing of the Word.

AC 3105 - bracelets

AC 3105
And two bracelets.
(Genesis 24:22)
That this signifies Divine truth,
is evident from the signification of "bracelets," as being truth,
here Divine truth,
because the Lord is treated of in the internal sense;
they are said to have been "two," to denote fullness.
Bracelets were placed on the hands of a bride,
because by a bride was signified the church,
and by her hands were signified powers from truth.
Bracelets were not only for a bride,
but also for a king . . .they were on the arm,
for the reason that royalty was representative and significative
of Divine truth pertaining to the Lord. 

AC 3102 - the reception of truth

AC 3102 [2]
Every truth that is elevated out of the natural person,
that is, . . . out of memory-knowledges
(or out of knowledges and doctrinal things,
for these are of the natural person)
into the rational, and there received,
must first be acknowledged for what it is,
and whether it is in agreement
with the good that is in the rational or not;
if it is in agreement, it is received;
and if not, it is rejected. 

SD 4223 - the ends are what judge a person

SD 4323
There was a certain one who thought himself
to be the devil that seduced Adam and Eve . . ..
He appeared like another spirit, not speaking badly,
as if he were a person, but still in a kind of obscurity.
I wondered at his quality, as a sense of hatreds, revenges,
cruelties, and adulteries was not perceived from him as from others;
but I was instructed that he cared not for such things,
had in view only the end of destroying good and truth,
so that nothing else entered into his intention.
Ends are what judge a person,
and because of those this class are prompted by such ends
they are very devils,
for they deeply conceal their aims,
and act from the detestable prompting above mentioned,
regardless of the means whether profane or holy.
(July 12, 1749)

AC 3094 - enlightenment

AC 3094 [2]
There is nothing else that receives good but truth,
and such as is the truth,
such is the reception,
and such is the consequent enlightenment.
So when there is enlightenment by means of truth,
the enlightenment appears to be from the truth,
as if it were its own;
although it is of good,
which thus gives light through the truth.
. . . The light of heaven
is from the Divine good of the Lord through His Divine truth;
and because it is through the Divine truth in His Human,
it penetrates not only to those who are celestial,
but also to the spiritual,
and enlightens with wisdom and intelligence all who are in heaven.
And because this is the source of wisdom and intelligence,
therefore the Divine good and the Divine truth in the Lord's Human
are so much treated of in the internal sense of the Word;
and in the present passage,
this sense treats of the first enlightenment of truth from good,
and of good through truth.

SD 4275 - the Lord sees; SD 4280 - the Lord provides

SD 4275
That All Evil is from a Person,
And That by the Lord Evil is Foreseen, Not Provided. 
Permission.
Evil spirits are constantly disposed
to attribute the evil of punishment to the Lord,
but it was often said to them
that every evil is from a person,
and that it is previded, or foreseen,
but not provided by the Lord;
for since a person's nature is such
that he believes himself able to do good,
the evil which he does is appropriated to him,
whereas it would be otherwise
did he believe it to be not from himself, but from evil spirits.
If a person was in the truth of faith,
and in the faith which is of charity,
evil would not then be appropriated to him.
(May 17, 1749)

SD 4280
Concerning Spheres of Affection
All spheres of the affection of goodness and truth
are from the Lord.
The more a spirit or an angel can be reduced
into a state of harmony with such a sphere,
the more perfect he is,
both [as we may say] as to quality and quantity.
(May 21, 1749)

AC 3086 - arcana (secrets) within the Word

AC 3086 [2]
At the very least it may in this way be seen
what great arcana there are in the internal sense of the Word;
also that the arcana are such
as scarcely to be seen in the light of the world,
in which a person is during his life in the body,
but that they always appear more distinctly and clearly
in proportion as a person comes
from the light of the world into the light of heaven,
into which he comes after death;
thus into the light in which blessed and happy souls are,
that is, the angels.

AC 2972 - tree

AC 2972
. . . the signification of a "tree,"
as being perceptions when the celestial church is treated of,
but knowledges when the spiritual church is treated of . . ..
Mention is made of the tree that was in the field
and in the borders thereof round about,
on account of that internal sense;
otherwise it would not be worthy of mention
in a Word that is Divine.

AC 3068 - vessels

AC 3068
. . . every memory-knowledge is a vessel in which is truth;
and every truth is a vessel for good.
Memory-knowledge without truth is an empty vessel;
and so too is truth without good;
but memory-knowledge in which there is truth,
and truth in which there is good,
are full vessels.
Affection which is of love is that which conjoins
so that they may be within in order;
for love is spiritual conjunction. 

AC 3066 - that which is loved

AC 3066
No one is ever instructed by means of truths,
but by means of the affections of truth;
for truths apart from affection
do indeed come to the ear as sound,
but do not enter into the memory;
that which causes them to enter into the memory
and to abide in it, is affection.
For the good of affection is like soil,
in which truths are sown as seeds;
but such as the soil is (that is, such as the affection is),
such is the produce of that which is sown.
The end or use determines the quality of the soil,
or of the affection,
and thus the quality of the produce of what is sown;
or, if you prefer to say so, 
the love itself determines it;
for in all things the love is the end and the use,
for nothing is regarded as the end and use
except that which is loved.

AC 3049 - in the use

AC 3049
. . . in itself truth is good, because from good;
and truth is the form of good, that is to say,
when good is formed so as to be perceived intellectually,
it is then called truth . . ..
In themselves general memory-knowledges are not goods,
nor are they alive;
it is the affection of them that causes them to be goods,
and to be alive;
for when there is this affection they are for the sake of use;
since no one is affected by any memory-knowledge or truth
except for some use;
use makes it a good;
and such as the use is,
such is the good.

AC 3033 - knowing what is in the heart

AC 3033 [2]
When a person has the affection of good,
that is, when he wills good from the heart,
then whenever anything is to be thought of that is to be willed and done,
his good willing flows into his thinking,
and there it applies itself to the knowledges which are there,
and joins itself with them as its recipient vessels,
and by this conjunction impels him so to think, to will, and to act.
It is as it were an inserting of good in truths
or in the knowledges of truth.
But when a person has not the affection of good,
but the affection of evil, that is, then he wills evil
(as when he believes all to be good that is for himself,
so that he may become great and may be rich,
thus possess honor and wealth, and this is his end),
then when anything is to be thought of that is to be willed and done,
his willing equally flows into his thinking,
and there excites knowledges
which appear in the semblance of truth;
and so it impels the person to think, to will, and to do;
and this by a wrong application of knowledges,
and by looking upon certain general truths
which he has drawn from the sense of the letter of the Word
or from other knowledge as being applicable in every sense:
it is in this way that evil is coupled with falsity,
for in this case the truth which is in it
is deprived of all the essence of truth..

AC 3023 - in heaven (internal) & on earth (external)

AC 3023
. . . the Lord is called "Jehovah the God of heaven"
from His Divine that is in the heavens;
and He is called the "God of the earth"
from His Divine that is on earth.
The Divine in the heavens
is also that which is with a person in his internals;
but the Divine on earth is that which is in his externals;
for the internals of a person are his heaven,
because by them he is conjoined with the angels;
but his externals are his earth,
for by them he is conjoined with people.
When a person is regenerate,
the internals flow into the externals,
and the externals are from the internals.
.

AC 3016 - progression

AC 3016
. . . human life, from infancy to old age,
is nothing else than a progression from the world to heaven;
and the last age, which is death, is the transition itself.

AC 3004, 3005 - Jesus Christ

AC 3004, 3005
By the name "Jesus,"
when named by a person who is reading the Word,
the angels perceive Divine good;
and by "Christ," Divine truth;
and by the two names,
the Divine marriage of good and truth,
and of truth and good;
thus the whole Divine in the heavenly marriage,
which is heaven.

That "Jesus" is Divine good comes from the fact that
"Jesus" means "safety," "salvation," and "Savior;"
and because it means these,
it signifies the Divine good;
for all salvation is from the Divine good
which is of the Lord's love and mercy;
and thus is effected by the reception of that good.
That "Christ" is Divine truth
comes from the fact that the name means
"Messiah," "Anointed," and "King;"
and that these names signify the Divine truth . . ..

AC 2993 - the causes of all natural things

AC 2993
. . . the causes of all natural things are from spiritual things,
and the beginnings of these causes are from celestial things;
or what is the same,
all things in the natural world derive their cause 
from truth which is the spiritual,
and their beginning from good which is the celestial;
and natural things proceed from there
to all the differences of truth and of good in the Lord's kingdom;
thus from the Lord Himself,
from whom is all good and truth.
These things must needs appear strange,
especially to those who will not or cannot 
raise their thought beyond nature,
and who do not know what the spiritual is,
and therefore do not acknowledge it.

AC 2982 - the churches of the Lord & the practices of life

AC 2982
With the churches of the Lord, the case is this:
In ancient times there were many churches at the same time;
and there were, as at this day, distinctions among them
in regard to doctrinal matters;
but still they made a one in the fact
that they acknowledged love to the Lord and charity toward the neighbor
as the principal and very essential thing;
and therefore that the purpose of doctrinal things
was not to teach them how to think,
but how to live.
And when with each and all,
love to the Lord and charity toward the neighbor
- that is, the good of life - is the essential thing;
then churches, however numerous they may be, make one church,
all then being one in the Lord's kingdom.
Such also is heaven; there are innumerable societies there,
all distinct; but still they constitute one heaven,
because in all there is love to the Lord and charity toward the neighbor.

[2] But the case is wholly different
with churches that call faith the essential of the church;
supposing that if they know this and think this they are saved,
no matter what their life may be.
In this case the several churches do not make one church,
nor indeed are they churches.
The good of faith,
that is, the very life of love and of charity according to the things of faith,
is that which makes the church.
Doctrinal matters are for the sake of life.
Everyone may know this:
what are doctrinal matters except for the sake of all end?
and what is the end but life?
or that a person may become such as those doctrinal things teach? 
It is indeed said that the very faith itself which saves is confidence;
but this confidence is quite impossible except in the good of life.
Without the good of life there is no reception,
and where there is no reception there is no confidence,
except at times a certain apparent confidence,
in suffering conditions of mind or body,
when the evil desires of the love of self and of the world are at rest.
But with those who are in evil of life,
when this crisis passes or the condition is changed,
such fallacious confidence altogether vanishes;
for a confidence is found even with the wicked.
But whoever desires to know the quality of his confidence,
him examine in himself the affections and ends,
as well as the practices of his life.

AC 2965, 2967 - capacity

AC 2965
. . . capacity depends on the reception,
and thus on the obedience
accordingly as one perceives and wills . . .

AC 2967 [2]
. . . until corporeal things . . . become quiescent
(such as the things of the love of self and of the world),
celestial and spiritual things,
which are of the affection of good and truth,
cannot flow in;
this is the reason why everyone is reformed
according to his state and capacity.

This also the Lord teaches in the parable
concerning the man who went abroad:

Who called his own servants and delivered unto them his goods;
and unto one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one;
to each according to his several ability.
He that received the five talents traded with them,
and made other five talents;
in like manner he also that received the two,
he also gained other two.
(Matthew 25:14-17, etc.)

So too concerning the ten servants,
to whom were given ten pounds,
that they might trade with them.
(Luke 19:12-13, etc.)