AE 724 - Doctrine, Knowing and Living

AE 724

. . . doctrine contains the truths that are for the church.
But the genuine doctrine of the church
is the doctrine of good,
thus the doctrine of life,
which is of love to the Lord
and of charity towards the neighbor;
but yet it is the doctrine of truth,
since doctrine teaches life, love, and charity,
and so far as it teaches it is truth;
for when a person knows and understands what good is,
what life is,
what love is,
and what charity is,
he knows and understands these things as truths,
since he knows and understands what good is,
how he ought to live, and what love and charity are,
and of what quality a person is
who is in the life of love and charity;
and as long as these are
matters of knowledge and understanding
they are nothing but truths, and thus doctrines;
but as soon as they pass over from knowledge
and from the understanding into the will,
and thus into act,
they are no longer truths but goods;
for interiorly a person wills nothing but what he loves,
and that which he loves is to him good.
From this it can be seen
that every doctrine of the church is a doctrine of truth,
and that the truth of doctrine becomes good
and comes to be of love and charity
when from doctrine it passes into life.

~ Elijah Warns Ahab of Famine ~

Now Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead,
said to Ahab,
"As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives,
whom I serve,
there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years
except at my word."

Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah:
"Leave here,
turn eastward and hide in the Kerith Ravine,
east of the Jordan.
You will drink from the brook,
and I have ordered the ravens to feed you there."

So he did what the Lord had told him.
He went to the Kerith Ravine,
east of the Jordan,
and stayed there.
the ravens brought him
bread and meat in the morning
and bread and meat in the evening,
and he drank from the brook.

(I Kings 17:1-6)

AE 271 - Jehovah God Said to the Woman

AE 721 [26]

Jehovah God said to the woman,
In multiplying I will multiply thy pain and thy conception;
in pain shalt thou bring forth sons;
and thy obedience shall be to thy man,
and he shall rule over thee.
(Genesis 3:16)

This does not mean
that women are to bring forth sons in pain,
but "the woman" means the church
that from celestial has become natural;
"eating of the tree of knowledge" signifies this.
That the man of the church cannot easily be regenerated
by means of truths and a life according to them,
and that he must endure temptations
that truths may be implanted and conjoined to good,
is meant by "pain and conception shall be multiplied,"
and by "she shall bring forth sons in pain,"
"conception" meaning the reception
of truth that is from good,
and "to bring forth sons" meaning
to bring forth truths from the marriage of truth and good.
Because the natural person is full of lusts
from the love of self and of the world,
and these can be removed only by means of truths,
therefore it is said
"thy obedience shall be to thy man,
and he shall rule over thee,"
"man" signifying here as elsewhere in the Word
the truth of the church.
That man is reformed and regenerated
by means of truths and a life according to them
has been shown above.
From this it can now be seen that
conceptions, births, nativities, and generations
signify in the Word
spiritual conceptions, births, nativities, and generations.

~ Israel Keeps Having Evil Kings After Jeroboam ~

Nadab son of Jeroboam became king of Israel
in the second year of Asa king of Judah,
and he reigned over Israel two years.
He did evil in the eyes of the Lord,
walking in the ways of his father and in his sin,
which he had caused Israel to commit.

In the third year of Asa king of Judah,
Baasha son of Ahijah became king of all Israel in Tirzah,
and he reigned twenty-four years.
He did evil in the eyes of the Lord,
walking in the ways of Jeroboam and in his sin,
which he had caused Israel to commit.

In the twenty-sixth year of Asa king of Judah,
Elah son of Baasha became king of Israel,
and he reigned in Tirzah two years.

In the twenty-seventh year of Asa king of Judah,
Zimri reigned in Tirzah seven days.

In the thirty-first year of Asa king of Judah,
Omri became king of Israel,
and he reigned twelve years,
six of them in Tirzah.
He bought the hill of Samaria from Shemer
for two talents of silver
and built a city on the hill,
calling it Samaria, after Shemer,
the name of the former owner of the hill.

In the thirty-eighth year of Asa king of Judah,
Ahab son of Omri bcame king of Israel,
and he reigned in Samaria over Israel twenty-two years.
Ahab son of Omri did more evil in the eyes of the Lord
than any of those before him.

AE 717 - Precious Stones, Being in Charity

AE 717 [2, 3, 17]

. . . "stone" means truth
therefore "precious stones" mean Divine truths.
They mean Divine truths in the ultimate of order,
which are the truths of the sense of the letter of the Word,
because these are transparent,
having in them a spiritual sense,
and in that sense there is the light of heaven,
which makes all things in
in the sense of the letter of the Word to be clear . . ..

. . . the truths of the sense of the letter of the Word
shine wherever they are,
as well with the evil as with the good,
for the spiritual light that is in them
is not extinguished by their being with the evil,
for heaven still flows into those truths.

. . . those who are in charity,
which is the life of faith,
have the light of intelligence from the Word.

~ The Early Kings of Judah ~

Rehoboam son of Solomon was king of Judah.
He was forty-one years old when he became king,
and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem,
the city the Lord had chosen
out of all the tribes of Israel in which to put His Name.
His Mother's name was Naamah;
she was an Ammonite.

Judah did evil in the eyes of the Lord
In the eighteenth year of the reign of
Jeroboam son of Nebat,

Abijah became king of Judah,
and he reigned in Jerusalem three years.
His mother's name was Maacah daughter of Abishalom.
He committed all the sins
his father had done before him;
his heart was not fully devoted to the Lord his God,
as the heart of David his forefather had been.

In the twentieth year of Jeroboam king of Israel,
Asa became king of Judah,
and he reigned in Jerusalem forty-one years.
His grandmother's name was
Maacah daughter of Abishalom.
Asa did what was right in the eyes of the Lord,
as his father David had done.

(I Kings 14:21-22; 15:1-3, 9-11)

AE 714, 715 - Falsities; AE 716 - Little By Little He Saves Us

 AE 714 [16, 28]

. . . truth falsified is mere falsity,
and good adulterated is mere evil . . ..

. . . when the good of charity and love
is not implanted by the life of a person
there is evil in place of it,
and where there is evil
there is falsity.

AE 715 [1, 2]

. . . what is contrary to what is holy is profane.

Be it known that the craftiness meant by
"the head of the dragon"
is a craftiness in perverting
the truths and goods of the Word
by means of reasonings from fallacies
and sophistries (fallacious arguments),
also from things persuasive,
by which the understanding is fascinated,
thus by inducing upon falsities
the appearance that they are true.

AE 716 [3]

. . . it is to be known
that falsities from evils have no power
against truth from good;
for truth from good is from the Lord,
and the Lord has all power by His Divine truth.
. . . a person is in evil and in the falsities from them
hereditarily from his parents,
and afterwards from actual life,
especially at the end of the church;
and these falsities from evil
cannot be expelled from a person in a moment,
but little by little;
for if they were expelled in a moment
a person would expire,
because they constitute his life.

. . . the Lord by His Divine truth might instantly
cast out the falsities of evil that are with a person,
but this would be to cast the person
instantly into hell;
for these falsities must first be removed,
and so far as they are removed,
so far there is a place
for implanting truths from good,
and a person is reformed.

~ The Lord Sends a Prophet to Jeroboam ~

By the word of the Lord
a man of God came from Judah to Bethel,
as Jeroboam was standing by the altar
to make an offering.
he cried out against the altar by the word of the Lord:
"O altar, altar!  This is what the Lord says:
'A son named Josiah will be born to the house of David.
On you he will sacrifice the priests of the high places
who now make offerings here,
and human bones will be burned on you.'"
That same day the man of God gave a sign:
"This is the sign the Lord has declared:
The altar will be split apart
and the ashes on it will be poured out."

When King Jeroboam heard what the man of God
cried out against the altar at Bethel,
he stretched out his hand from the altar and said,
"Seize him!"
But the hand he stretched out
toward the man shriveled up,
so that he could not pull it back.
Also, the altar was split apart and its ashes poured out
according to the sign given by the man of God
by the word of the Lord.

(I Kings 13:1-5)

AE 714 - The Word and Loving the Use of Truth

 AE 714 [9, 10]

. . . the Word, viewed in itself,
is simply the doctrine of love to the Lord
and of charity towards the neighbor,
and nowhere the doctrine of faith separate from charity.

. . . but all who are in the spiritual affection of truth,
that is, who love truth because it is truth
and because it is serviceable to eternal life
and to the life of people's souls,
have intelligence from the Lord.

 

 

~ Solomon's Renown and Failure ~

 King Solomon was greater in riches and wisdom
than all the other kings of the earth.
The whole world sought audience with Solomon
to hear the wisdom God put in his heart.

King Solomon, however, loved many foreign women
besides Pharaoh's daughter --
Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians and Hittites.
They were from nations
about which the Lord had told the Israelites,
"You must not intermarry with them,
because they will surely
turn your hearts after their gods."
Nevertheless, Solomon held fast to them in love.

(I Kings 10:23-24; 11:1-5)

 

AE 714 - A Great Red Dragon

AE  714 [1, 2]

And behold a great red dragon,
(Revelation 12:3)

means all who are merely natural and sensual
from the love of self,
and yet have more or less knowledge from the Word,
from doctrine therefrom
or from preaching,
and think to be saved
by knowledge alone apart from life.
. . . all who live for the body and the world,
and not for God and heaven,
become merely natural and sensual;
for everyone is inwardly formed according to his life,
and to live for the body and the world
is to live a natural and sensual life,
while to live for God and heaven is to live a spiritual life.

. . . one who knows the things taught in the Word
or in doctrine or by a preacher,
and does not live according to them,
however learned and erudite he may appear,
is nevertheless not spiritual but natural,
and even sensual,
for knowledge and the ability to reason
do not make a person spiritual,
but the life itself. 
This is so because knowledge
and the faculty of reasoning are merely natural,
and can therefore also be with evil people,
even with the worst of people;
but truths from the Word with a life according to them
are what make a person spiritual,
for life is willing truths and doing them
from a love of them;
this is not possible to the natural person alone,
but must come from the spiritual,
and from its influx into the natural;
for to love truths
and from love to will them
and from that will to do them
is from heaven, that is, through heaven from the Lord,
and is in its nature celestial and Divine . . ..

~ Gold and Almugwood for King Solomon ~

  (Hiram's ships brought gold from Ophir;
and from there they brought
great cargoes of almugwood and precious stones.
The king used the almugwood to make supports
for the temple of the Lord and for the royal palace,
and to make harps and lyres for the musicians.
So much almugwood has never been imported
or seen since that day.)

(I Kings 10:11-12)

 

AE 710 - No More Two But One

AE 710 [25, 26]

. . . there are marriages in the heavens even as on earth,
but in the heavens the marriages are of like with like;
for man is born to act from the understanding,
but woman from affection,
and the understanding with men
is the understanding of truth and good,
and the affection with women
is the affection of truth and good;
and as all understanding derives its life from affection,
therefore the two there are joined together,
as the affection which belongs to the will
is joined with the correspondent thought
which belongs to the understanding.
For the understanding is different with everyone,
as the truths that constitute the understanding
are different.

"Therefore they are no more twain but one flesh"
signifies that thus the understanding of good and truth
and the affection of good and truth
are not two but one,
in like manner
as while will and understanding are two
they are nevertheless one;
and the like is true of truth and good
and of faith and charity,
which indeed are two but yet one,
that is, when truth is of good and good is of truth,
so also when faith is of charity and charity is of faith;
and this also is the source of conjugial love.

~ The Ark Brought to the Temple and Part of Solomon's Prayer ~

Then King Solomon summoned
into his presence at Jerusalem
the elders of Israel,
all the heads of the tribes
and the chiefs of the Israelite families,
to bring up the ark of the Lord's covenant
from Zion, the City of David.
All the men of Israel came together to King Solomon
at the time of the festival
in the month of Ethanim, the seventh month.

When all the elders of Israel had arrived,
the priests took up the ark,
and they brought up the ark of the Lord
and the Tent of Meeting
and all the sacred furnishings in it.
The priests and Levites carried them up,
and King Solomon and the entire assembly of Israel
that had gathered about him
were before the ark,
sacrificing so many sheep and cattle
that they could not be recorded or counted.

The priests then brought
the ark of the Lord's covenant
to its place in the inner sanctuary of the temple,
the Most Holy Place,
and put it beneath the wings of the cherubim.
The cherubim spread their wings
over the place of the ark
and overshadowed the ark and its carrying poles.
These poles were so long
that their ends could be seen from the Holy Place
in front of the inner sanctuary,
but not from outside the Holy Place;
and they are still there today.
There was nothing in the ark
except the two stone tablets
that Moses had placed in it at Horeb,
where the Lord made a covenant with the Israelites
after they came out of Egypt.

When the priests withdrew from the Holy Place,
the cloud filled the temple of the Lord.
And the priests could not perform their service
because of the cloud,
for the glory of the Lord filled His temple.

. . . then Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord
in front of the whole assembly of Israel,
spread out of his hands toward heaven and said:

"O Lord, God of Israel, there is no God like You
in the heaven above or on earth below --
You who keep your covenant of love with Your servants
who continue wholeheartedly in Your way.
. . . Hear the supplication of Your servant
and of Your people Israel
when they pray toward this place.
Hear from heaven,
Your dwelling place,
and when You year, forgive."

(I Kings 8: 1-11, 22-23, 30)

AE 707, 708 - A New Church in Love to the Lord and the Neighbor

AE 707

A woman arrayed with the sun,
(Revelation 12:2)

means the church with those who are in love to the Lord,
and from that, in love towards the neighbor.

. . . the life of the love of everyone,
both of a person and of spirit and angel,
forms a sphere about them
from which what is their quality is perceived,
even afar off;
moreover, by means of that sphere
consociations and conjunctions
are effected in the heavens and also in the hells;
and as here the church
which is in love to the Lord from the Lord is treated of,
and that church is meant by "the woman,"
and that love by "the sun,"
so "the woman arrayed with the sun"
means the church with those
who are in love to the Lord from the Lord.
It is added, and so in love towards the neighbor,
because love towards the neighbor
is derived from love to the Lord . . .
for love to the Lord
is to love and to will those things that are of the Lord,
consequently those things
that the Lord has commanded in the Word,
and love towards the neighbor is to act from that will,
thus it consists in the performance of uses,
which are effects.

AE 708

And the moon under her feet,
(Revelation 12:2)

means faith with those who are natural
and who are in charity.
This is evident from the signification of "moon"
as being faith in which there is charity;
and from the signification of "feet,"
as being things natural;
here, therefore, those who are natural,
because this is said of the "woman,"
by whom the church is meant,
and the "sun" with which she was arrayed,
signifies love to the Lord from the Lord
and love to the neighbor;
therefore "the woman arrayed with the sun"
means the church with those
who are celestial and consequently spiritual,
and "the moon under her feet"
signifies the church with those
who are natural and sensual,
and at the same time in the faith of charity;
for the goods and the truths therefrom
of heaven and the church succeed in order,
like the head, the body, and the feet with man.
In the head of the Greatest Man, which is heaven,
are those who are in love to the Lord from the Lord,
and these are called celestial;
but in the body, from the breast even to the loins
of that Greatest Man, which is heaven,
are those who are in love towards the neighbor,
and these are called spiritual;
but in the feet of the Greatest Man, which is heaven,
are those who are obscurely in the faith of charity,
and these are called natural.
 

~ Solomon Builds the Temple ~

In the four hundred and eightieth year
after the Israelites had come out of Egypt,
in the fourth year of Solomon's reign over Israel,
in the month of Ziv, the second month,
he began to build the temple of the Lord.

. . . In building the temple,
only blocks dressed at the quarry were used,
and no hammer, chisel or any other iron tool
was heard at the temple site
while it was being built.

The foundation of the temple of the Lord
was laid in the fourth year,
in the month of Ziv.
In the eleventh year in the month of Bul,
the eighth month,
the temple was finished in all its details
according to its specifications.
He had spent seven years building it.

(I Kings 6:1, 7, 37-38)
 

AE 706 - Signs and Wonders

AE 706 [1, 2, 3]

"Sign" and "wonder" are mentioned
in many passages in the Word,
"sign" meaning that which indicates, witnesses,
and persuades respecting the subject of inquiry,
and "wonder" meaning that which stirs up,
strikes dumb, and fills with amazement;
thus a sign moves the understanding and faith,
but a wonder the will and its affection,
for the will and its affection are what are stirred up,
stricken dumb, and filled with amazement,
while the understanding and its faith
are what are persuaded and moved
by indications and proofs.

. . .  in every particular of the Word
there is a marriage of truth and good,
and thus also of the understanding and will,
for truth is of the understanding and good of the will,
consequently "signs" there
have reference to things pertaining to truth,
and to faith and the understanding,
and "wonders" to the things pertaining to good,
and to affection and the will.

. . . a "sign" has reference to a prophet,
and a "wonder" to a dreamer of dreams,
because a "prophet" means one who teaches truths,
and in the abstract sense the doctrine of truth,
and a "dreamer" means one who stirs up to doing,
and in the abstract sense
the stirring up from which a thing is done;
this, too, pertains to a "wonder,"
and the former to a "sign;"
for prophets were instructed
by a living voice from the Lord,
and "dreamers" by representatives excited to doing,
which flowed into the affection of the dreamer,
and from that into the sight of the thought,
for when a person dreams
his natural understanding is laid asleep
and his spiritual sight is opened,
which draws its all from the affection.

~ Solomon's Gift of Wisdom ~

God gave Solomon wisdom and very great insight,
and a breadth of understanding
as measureless as the sand on the seashore.
Solomon's wisdom was greater than
the wisdom of all the men of the East,
and greater than all the wisdom of Egypt.
He was wiser than any other man,
including Ethan the Ezrahite --
wiser than Heman, Calcol and Darda, the sons of Mahol.
And his fame spread to all the surrounding nations.
He spoke three thousand proverbs
and his songs numbered a thousand and five.
He described plant life,
from the cedar of Lebanon
to the hyssop that grows out of walls.
He also taught about animals and birds, reptiles and fish.
Men of all nations came to listen to Solomon's wisdom,
sent by all the kings of the world,
who had heard of his wisdom.

(I Kings 4:29-34)

AE 701 [27] - The Sabbath - The Covenant of An Age

  AE 701 [27]

The sons of Israel shall keep the Sabbath
in their generations, the covenant of an age.
(Exodus 31:16)

The Sabbath was called "the covenant of an age,"
because the "Sabbath" signified in the highest sense
the union of the Divine with the Human in the Lord,
and in a relative sense
the conjunction of the Lord with heaven and the church,
and in a universal sense
the conjunction of good and truth,
which conjunction is called the heavenly marriage.
Therefore "the rest on the Sabbath day"
meant the state of that union and of that conjunction,
since by that state there is peace and rest to the Lord,
and thereby peace and salvation
in the heavens and on the earth.

~ Solomon Sends Away Abiathar ~

To Abiathar the priest the king said,
"Go back to your fields in Anathoth.
You deserve to die,
but I will not put you to death now,
because you carried the ark of the Sovereign Lord
before my father David
and shared all my father's hardships."
So Solomon removed
Abiathar from the priesthood of the Lord,
fulfilling the word the Lord had spoken at Shiloh
about the house of Eli.

(I Kings 2:26-27)