AE 71 - "the voice of many waters"

AE 71 [3,4] 

. . . in the Word "waters" signify the truths of faith,
consequently what is meant by the water of baptism,
about which the Lord thus teaches in John:

Except a man be born of water and of the spirit
he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
(John 3:5)

"Waters" here are the truths of faith,
and "spirit" a life according to them.
Because it had not been known
that "waters" signified the truths of faith,
and that all things that were instituted
among the sons of Israel
were representative of spiritual things,
it was believed
that by the washings that were prescribed for them
their sins were wiped away;
yet this was not at all the case;
those washings only represented
purification from evils and falsities
by means of the truths of faith
and a life according to them.

I heard a voice from heaven,
as the voice of many waters.
(Revelation 14:2)

I know that some will wonder why
"waters" are mentioned in the Word,
and not the truths of faith,
since the Word is to teach man about his spiritual life;
and since, 
if the expression the truths of faith had been used, 
instead of "waters,"
man would have known
that the waters of baptism and of washings
contribute nothing
to the purifying of man from evils and falsities.
But it is to be known, 
that the Word in order to be Divine,
and at the same time useful to heaven and the church,
must be wholly natural in the letter,
for if it were not natural in the letter
there could be no conjunction
of heaven with the church by means of it;
for it would be like a house without a foundation,
and like a soul without a body,
for ultimates enclose all interiors,
and are a foundation for them.
Man also is in ultimates,
and upon the church in him
heaven has its foundations.
For this reason the style of the Word is such as it is;
and as a consequence,
when man from the natural things
that are in the sense of the letter of the Word
thinks spiritually,
he is conjoined with heaven,
and in no other way could he be conjoined with it.

Jacob Meets Manasseh and Ephraim

Some time later Joseph was told,
"Your father is ill."
So he took his two sons 
Manasseh and Ephraim along with him.
When Jacob was told,
"Your son Joseph has come to you,"
Israel rallied his strength and sat up on the bed.

When Israel saw the sons of Joseph, he asked,
Who are these?"

"They are the sons God has given me here,"
Joseph said to his father.

Israel said to Joseph,
"I never expect to see your face again,
and now God has allowed me
to see your children, too."

The Israel said to Joseph,
"I am about to die,
but God will be with you
and take you back to the land of your fathers.
And to you,
as one who is over your brothers,
I give the ridge of land I took from the Amorites
with my sword and my bow."

(Genesis 48:1-2,8-9,11,21-22)

AE 65 - the garments of angels

AE 65

. . . everyone is clothed with garments
according to his affection for becoming intelligent and wise,
and this affection is what proceeds from them (the angels);
for there is a sphere
that proceeds from every angel and spirit,
which is a sphere of affection,
and is called the sphere of his life,
and their garments are according to this sphere.

Jacob Does Not Want a Second Trip to Egypt

Now the famine was still severe in the land.
So when they had eaten all the grain
they had brought from Egypt,
their father said to them,
"Go back and buy us a little more food."

But Judah said to him,
"The man warned us solemnly,
'You will not see my face again
unless your brother is with you.'
If you will send our brother along with us,
we will go down and buy food for you.
But if you will not send him,
we will not go down,
because the man said to us,
'You will not see my face again
unless your brother is with you.'"

Israel asked, "Why did you bring this trouble on me
by telling the man you had another brother?"

They replied, "The man questioned us closely
about ourselves and our family.
'Is your father still living?' he asked us.
'Do you have another brother?'
We simply answered his questions.
How were we to know he would say,
'Bring your brother down here'?"

(Genesis 43:1-7)

AE 64 - the garments of the Lord

AE 64 [4]

. . . the garments of the Lord signified Divine truth,
thus the Word, because it is Divine truth . . .

Potiphar and the Prison Warden

The Lord was with Joseph and he prospered,
and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master.
When his master saw that the Lord was with him
and that the Lord gave him success in everything he did,
Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant.
Potiphar put him charge of his household
and of all that he owned,
the Lord blessed the household of the Egyptian
because of Joseph.
The blessing of the Lord was on everything Potiphar had,
both in the house and in the field.
So he left in Joseph's care everything he had;
with Joseph in charge,
he did not concern himself with anything
except the food he ate.

Joseph's master took him and put him in prison,
the place where the king's prisoners were confined.
But while Joseph was there in prison,
the Lord was with him;
He showed him kindness
and granted him favor in the eyes of he prison warden.
So the warden put Joseph in charge
of all those held in the prison,
and he was made responsible for all that was done there.
The warden paid no attention
to anything under Joseph's care,
because the Lord was with Joseph
and gave him success in whatever he did.

(Genesis 39:2-6, 20-23)

AE 59 - according to reception

AE 59

Unto Ephesus, and Smyrna, and Pergamum,
and Thyatira, and Sardis, and Philadelphia, and Laodicea,
signifies in each case according to reception.
(Revelation 1:11)

It is said according to reception,
because the light of intelligence
does not constitute the church with man,
but the reception of light in heat,
that is, the reception of truth in good.
It is said the reception of light in heat,
because spiritual light is Divine truth,
and spiritual heat is Divine good,
and these two in the spiritual world
are as light and heat in the natural world;
for insofar as spring or summer heat is added to the light,
so far all things grow and germinate,
but so far as that heat is not added to the light,
so far all things become torpid and die.

Jacob Had Twelve Sons

Jacob had twelve sons:

The sons of Leah:
Reuben the firstborn of Jacob,
Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar and Zebulun.

The sons of Rachel:
Joseph and Benjamin.

The sons of Rachel's maid-servant Bilhah:
Dan and Naphtali.

The sons of Leah's maid-servant Zilpah:
Gad and Asher.

These are the sons of Jacob,
who were born to him in Paddan Aram.

Jacob came home to his father Isaac in Mamre,
near Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron),
where Abraham and Isaac had stayed.

(Genesis 35:23-27)

AE 39 - tribes; AE 56 - brother

AE 39 [2]
In the Word "tribes" are often mentioned,
inasmuch as the Israelitish people
were divided into twelve tribes,
and one who does not know the internal sense of the Word
supposes that by "tribes" are meant the tribes of Israel;
but by "tribes" are not meant tribes,
nor by "Israel" is Israel meant,
but by "tribes" are meant
all those who are in truths from good,
and by "Israel" the Lord's church.
He who is ignorant of this
will easily adopt the common belief
that the sons of Israel were chosen
in preference to all others on earth,
and that they are also to be brought at last
into the land of Canaan;
indeed, that heaven also is to be formed chiefly from them;
when, in fact, by their names they are not meant,
but they who are in truths from good,
thus those who are of the church;
by the twelve tribes,
all such, and by each tribe,
some particular truth and good pertaining to those
who are of the church.

AE 56
. . . in the Word "brother" signifies the good of love.

Laban & Jacob Reach a Payment Agreement

After Rachel gave birth to Joseph,
Jacob said to Laban,
"Send me on my way
so I can go back to my own homeland.
Give me my wives and children,
for whom I have served you,
and I will be on my way.
You know how much work I've done for you."

But Laban said to him,
"If I have found favor in your eyes, please stay.
I have learned by divination
that the Lord has blessed me because of you."
He added, "Name your wages, and I will pay them."

Jacob said to him,
"You know how I have worked for you
and how your livestock has fared under my care.
The little you had before I came has increased greatly,
and he Lord has blessed you wherever I have been.
But now,
when may I do something for my own household?"

"What shall I give you?" he asked.

"Don't give me anything," Jacob replied.
"But if you will do this one thing for me,
I will go on tending your flocks 
and watching over them:
Let me go through all your flocks today
and remove from them 
every speckled or spotted sheep,
every dark-colored lamb
and every spotted or speckled goat.
They will be my wages.
And my honesty will testify for me in the future,
whenever you check on the wages you have paid me.
Any goat in my possession 
that is not speckled or spotted,
or any lamb that is not dark-colored,
will be considered stolen."

"Agreed," said Laban.
"Let it be as you have said."

(Genesis 30:25-34)

AE 33 - Glory is the Divine Truth

AE 33

"Glory" is Divine truth in heaven
because Divine truth is the light there;
and the things that have existence
from the light of heaven are called "glory,"
because they have existence from the Lord
and represent the Divine truth that is from Him,
and declare His glory;
especially the things that are within the angel,
which are of intelligence and wisdom.
It is believed in the world that "Glory be to God"
means that God
for His own sake
desires glory from man,
and that He is moved by it,
and imparts blessings in return for it.
But this is a mistake.
God desires glory from man for man's sake;
for thus man ascribes all things to the Divine
and nothing to himself,
and when he does this,
the Divine can flow in with Divine truth,
and give him intelligence and wisdom.
Thus and no otherwise is the Lord glorified in man;
for the Lord loves everyone,
and, from love, desires that His glory,
that is, Divine truth, may be in men.
This, moreover, the Lord teaches in John:

If you abide in Me,
and My words abide in you,
you shall ask whatever you will,
and it shall be done unto you.
Herein is My Father glorified,
that you bear much fruit,
and that you be made My disciples.
(John 15:7-8)

Isaac Stays in Gerar

Now there was a famine in the land -
besides the earlier famine of Abraham's time -
and Isaac went to Abimelech
king of the Philistines in Gerar.
The Lord appeared to Isaac and said,
"Do not go down to Egypt;
live in the land where I tell you to live.
Stay in this land for a while,
and I will be with you and will bless you.
For to you and your descendants
I will give all these lands
and will confirm the oath
I swore to your father Abraham.
I will make your descendants
as numerous as the stars in the sky
and will give them all these lands,
and through your offspring
all the nations on earth will be blessed,
because Abraham obeyed Me
and kept My requirements, My commands,
My decrees and My laws."
So Isaac stayed in Gerar.

(Genesis 26:1-6)

The Lord Will Provide

When they reached the place God had told him about,
Abraham built an altar there
and arranged the wood on it.
He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar,
on top of the wood.
Then he reached out his hand
and took the knife to slay his son.
But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven,
"Abraham!  Abraham!"

"Here I am," he replied.

"Do not lay a hand on the boy," He said.
"Do not do anything to him.
Now I know that you fear God,
because you have not withheld from Me your son,
your only son."

Abraham looked up
and there in a thicket he saw a ram
caught by its horns.
He went over and took the ram
and sacrificed it as a burnt offering
instead of his son.
So Abraham called that place
The Lord Will Provide.
And to this day is said,
"On the mountain of the Lord
it will be provided."

(Genesis 22:9-14)

AE 26, 27 - "And from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness" (Revelation 1:5)

AE 26, 27 - Revelation 1:5

"And from Jesus Christ,"
signifies from the Lord as to the Divine Human.
This is evident from the fact
that such was the Lord's name in the world;
thus the name of His Human;
but in respect to the Divine,
His name was "Jehovah" and "God."
It is called the Divine Human
because the Lord made His Human Divine
when He was in the world;
for He united it to His Divine
which was in Him from conception,
and which was to Him a soul from the Father,
thus which was to Him His life;
for the soul of everyone is his life,
and the body, which is the human, lives therefrom;
when, therefore,
the Divine was united to the Human in the Lord,
as soul to body,
it is called the Divine Human.

"The faithful witness,"
signifies from whom is all truth in heaven.
This is evident from the signification of "faithful witness,"
as being, in reference to the Lord,
the acknowledgment of the Divine Human
from whom is all truth in heaven.
It is said in heaven,
because Divine truth,
proceeding from the Lord's Divine good,
makes heaven in general,
and with each angel there in particular.

AE 23 - proprium

AE 23 [2]

For the whole heaven is heaven
not from the angels' proprium [selfhood, or what is their own],
but from the Divine of the Lord;
nor is the church the church from the proprium of men,
but from the Divine of the Lord;
for all the good of love and the truth of faith are from the Lord,
and it is the good of love and the truth of faith
that make heaven and the church.
Angels and men are only recipients,
and so far as they receive,
heaven and the church are in them.

"I Am Your Shield"

After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision:

"Do not be afraid, Abram.
I am your shield,
your very great reward."

(Genesis 15:1)

AE 9, 15 - good, truth, doing

AE 9
. . . all spiritual good that a person has,
is gained and implanted by truths.

. . . to act from freedom
is to act from the affection of truth from good.

AE 15
To do is to will,
and to will is to do;
because in the deeds
the will is everything.

Then Noah Built an Altar

Then Noah built an altar to the Lord and,
taking some of all the clean animals and clean birds,
he sacrificed burnt offerings on it.
The Lord smelled the pleasing aroma
and said in His heart:
"Never again will I curse the ground because of man,
even though every inclination of his heart
is evil from childhood.
And never again will I destroy all living creatures,
as I have done.

"As long as the earth endures,
seed time and harvest,
cold and heat,
summer and winter,
day and night
will never cease."

(Genesis 8:20-22)

AE 6 & 7 - significations of "servants" and "quickly"

Portions of Revelation 1:1

AE 6
. . . the signification of "His servants,"
as being, who are in truths from good.
Such are meant by servants of God,
because those who hearken to and obey God
are called, in the Word, servants of God.
Hearkening and obedience take place
with those who are in truths from good,
but not with those who are in truths alone,
or in truths without good;
for these have truths in the memory only,
and not in the life;
whereas those who are in truths from good
have truths in the life,
and those who have truths in the life
do them from the heart, that is, from love.
. . . By good is here meant
the good of love to the Lord
and the good of love towards the neighbor;
for this good is the only spiritual good,
and with this truths of faith are in accord.

AE 7
"Things which must quickly come to pass",
signifies which will certainly be.
. . . and from the signification of "quickly,"
as meaning what is certain and full.


(Side comment:  Today, ten years ago,
the 'Heavenly Doctrine Quotes' blog began.)

The First and Fourth Day

In the beginning
God created the heavens and the earth.
Now the earth was formless and empty,
darkness was over the surface of the deep,
and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

And God said,
"Let there be light,"
and there was light.
God saw that the light was good,
and He separated the light from the darkness.
God called the light "day,"
and the darkness He called "night."
And there was evening,
and there was morning - the first day.

And God said,
"Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky
to separate the day from the night,
and let them serve as signs
to mark seasons and days and years,
and let them be lights in the expanse of the sky
to give light to the earth."
And it was so.
God made two great lights -
the greater light to govern the day
and the lesser light to govern the night.
He also made the stars.
God set them in the expanse of the sky
to give light on the earth,
to govern the day and the night,
and to separate light from darkness.
And God saw that it was good.
And there was evening
and there was morning - the fourth day.

(Genesis 1:1-5,14-19)