AE 107 - to live well from religion

AE 107
To live well from religion
is to think,
to will,
and to do,
because it is so taught in the Word,
and because the Lord has commanded it.

AE 102a - Where is the Lord?

AE 102a [2]
. . . the Lord is in every one
in the goods of love and of faith
that are from Him.

AE 102b - Is it spiritual affection or natural affection?

AE 102b [7]
To love and to do truth for the sake of truth,
and good for the sake of good,
is to have affection for truth and good for their sake,
and not for the sake of one's own reputation, honor, or gain.
Such affection of truth and good is a truly spiritual affection;
but the affection of truth and good
for the sake of one's own reputation, honor, or gain,
is a merely natural affection.

AE 98 - works, toil, & endurance

AE 98
I know thy works, and thy toil, and thy endurance,
(Revelation 2:2)
signifies all things that they will, think, and do,
thus all things of love and faith in the spiritual and in the natural person.
This is evident from the signification of "works,"
as being the things that are of the will and love;
and from the signification of "toil,"
as being the things that are of thought and faith;
and from the signification of "endurance,"
as being the things done from will and thought,
or the things that these do.
. . . all things done by a person
flow out from the interiors belonging to his mind,
also that the mind is the all in everything that person does,
and that the body is a mere obedience through which is exhibited,
in a form visible before the eye, that which the mind wills and thinks.
This is why those external things here mentioned,
"works," "toil," and "endurance,"
signify willing, thinking, and consequent doing,
or what is the same,
loving, believing, and consequent presenting in act.

AE 86 - Abide in Me.

Jesus said, Abide in Me, and I in you.
If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you,
you shall ask whatever you will,
and it shall be done unto you.
Abide in My love.
If you keep My commandments,
you shall abide in My love.
He that abides in Me, and I in him,
the same bears much fruit;
for without Me you cannot do anything.
(John 15:4-10)

AE 86
. . . so far as the Lord is received in faith and in love
so far as He is in a person,
and so far as He is in a person
so far He removes evils,
thus the hells and eternal death.
This the Lord alone does . . ..

. . . the only means whereby
a spirit can be formed and constituted for heaven
is receiving the Lord in faith and love;
for the Lord alone, by His presence in faith and love with a person,
removes evils, and forms a person into an image of heaven,
which is an angel.

AE 77 - all affections have corresponding gestures in the body

AE 77
And I fell at His feet,
signifies adoration from humiliation of heart in presence of the Divine. . ..
Humiliation of heart is meant,
because humiliation that springs from the heart
in presence of the Divine
produces that prostration.
All affections, whatsoever they are,
have corresponding gestures in the body. . ..
Humiliation before a person produces a bowing down,
according to the estimation of him;
but in presence of the Divine
it produces total prostration,
especially when a person thinks that the Divine
in respect to power and wisdom is everything,
and a person in comparison is nothing,
or that from the Divine is all good
and from a person nothing but evil.
When a person is in this acknowledgment from the heart
he comes as it were out of himself,
and so falls upon his face,
and when he is thus out of himself
he also is removed from the proprium [what is his own],
which in itself is wholly evil;
when this is removed, the Divine fills him and raises him up;
not that the Divine desires such humiliation on its account,
but because evil is then removed,
and so far as evil is removed with a person so far the Divine flows in;
for evil alone stands in the way.

I lifted up mine eyes and looked, and behold a Man clothed in linen,
His face as the appearance of lightning, and His eyes as lamps of fire,
and His feet like the splendor of burnished brass.
I alone saw the vision; but the men that were with me saw it not;
but great fear fell upon them, and they fled.
And there remained no strength in me;
and I came into a deep sleep, and my face upon the ground.
But lo, a hand touched me,
and set me upon my knees and upon the palms of my hands,
and He said, Fear not.
(Daniel 10:5-12)

This state is also described in Ezekiel, when he saw the cherubs,
by which is signified the Lord in respect to Providence:

When I saw the glory of Jehovah, I fell upon my face,
and I heard a voice of One that spoke.
And He said unto me,
son of man, stand upon thy feet, that I may speak to thee.
And the spirit entered into me when He spoke unto me,
and set me upon my feet, and I heard Him that spake unto me.
(Ezekiel 1:28; 2:1-2; 3:24)

Likewise also, when Jesus was transfigured before Peter, James, and John,
of which it is thus written in Matthew:

While Peter was yet speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them;
and behold, a voice out of the cloud saying,
This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye Him.
And when the disciples heard these things they fell on their face,
and were sore afraid.
And Jesus came and touched them, and said,
Arise, be not afraid.
And when they had lifted up their eyes they saw no one save Jesus only.
(Matthew 17:5-8)

From this it is apparent
of what nature is the presence of the Divine Human of the Lord with a person,
when person is in a state of humiliation of heart,
namely, that he falls upon his face,
and by the touch of the Lord's hand is raised upon his feet.
It was plainly the presence of the Lord in respect to the Divine Human;
since it was the "Son of man" who was in the midst of the lampstands
that appeared in this way before John;
and the "Son of man" is the Lord as to the Divine Human . . ..

AE 71 - And His voice as the voice of many waters (Revelation 1:15)

AE 71
And His voice as the voice of many waters (Revelation 1:15),
signifies Divine truth in ultimates.
This is evident from the signification of a "voice"
when it is from the Lord, as being Divine truth;
and from the signification of "waters,"
as being the truths of faith, and also the knowledges of truth;
and since the knowledges of truths are in ultimates,
"the voice as the voice of many waters,"
because it is said of the Lord,
signifies Divine truth in ultimates.

I will pour waters upon him that is thirsty,
and streams upon the dry ground;
I will pour My spirit upon your seed,
and My blessing upon your offspring.
(Isaiah 44:3)

They have forsaken Jehovah,
the fountain of living waters.
(Jeremiah 17:13)

O God, early will I seek You;
my soul is thirsty,
I am weary without waters.
(Psalm 63:1).

AE 67 - As white wool, as snow (Revelation 1:14)

AE 67
As white wool, as snow,
signifies in respect to good and truth therein.
This is evident from the signification of "white wool"
as being good in ultimates;
and from the signification of "snow,"
as being truth in ultimates.
"Snow" means truth in ultimates
by reason of the water of which it is composed,
and its whiteness and brightness.
"White wool," signifies good in ultimates,
because wool upon lambs and sheep
has a signification like that of hair upon man;
and "lambs," and "sheep" signify good,
"lambs" celestial good, and "sheep" spiritual good.
From this it is that the "hairs,"
by which Divine truth in ultimates is signified,
are said to be "white as white wool, and as snow."

So also of the Lord, when He was transfigured:

His garments became glistening, exceeding white as snow,
so as no fuller on earth can whiten them.
(Mark 9:3)

And concerning the Ancient of Days, in Daniel:

I saw until the thrones were cast down,
and the Ancient of Days did sit,
whose garment was white as snow,
and the hair of his head as white wool.
(Daniel 7:9).

Garment also signifies the Divine in ultimates;
and the Ancient of Days, the Lord from eternity.

AE 63 - Blessed are you . . .

AE 63
Blessed are you when men shall hate you for the Son of man's sake.
(Luke 6:2)
"For the Son of man's sake"
is for the sake of Divine truth that proceeds from the Lord.
Divine truth is the All of faith in and of love to the Lord.
Because the evil deny these things,
and those who deny also hate them,
while the good acknowledge them,
therefore it is said that the good are blessed.

AE 54, 55 - portions of Revelation 1:10

AE 54
On the Lord's day.
That this signifies, Divine influx at the time,
is evident from the signification of the Lord's day,
as being when the Lord instructs a person,
thus when He enters by influx.
The Lord's day is the day of the sabbath,
and the sabbath in the Ancient Churches,
which were representative churches,
was the most holy thing of worship,
because it signified the union of the Divine and Human in the Lord,
and so also the conjunction of His Divine Human with heaven.
But after the Lord united His Divine with His Human,
then that holy representative ceased,
and that day became a day of instruction.
For this reason revelation was made to John on the Lord's day;
revelation, in this case, is instruction concerning the state of the church.

AE 55
And I heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet.
The reason why "behind me" signifies clearly (or manifestly), is
because those things that flow from heaven into the affection of a person,
flow into the back part of the head,
and thus enter clearly into his perception;
for the things which enter into the affection are perceived clearly,
all the life of perception being from that source;
but the things that flow from heaven immediately into the thought,
flow into the part above the forehead.
It is therefore evident what is signified by John's hearing behind him,
and by his afterwards turning to see the voice which spake with him.
The reason why a trumpet, or horn,
signifies Divine truth to be revealed from heaven, is,
because Divine truth is sometimes so heard when it flows down from the Lord
through the heavens to a person;
for it becomes louder in its descent and thus flows in.
But it is heard in this way only in the beginning,
by those to whom Divine truth is to be revealed in the ultimate sense,
which is representative of interior things;
afterwards it is heard as a human voice.

AE 41, 52 - the Alpha & Omega, the Divine Human

AE 41 - Revelation 1:8
I am the Alpha and the Omega, Beginning and End,
signifies that He governs all things from firsts through ultimates,
and thus all things of heaven to eternity. . ..
These things are said of the Lord's Divine Human,
for they are said of Jesus Christ,
by which name His Divine Human is meant.
By means of this the Lord is in firsts and in ultimates.

AE 52 - Revelation 1:9
And for the testimony of Jesus Christ,
signifies that the Lord's Divine Human may be acknowledged.
This is evident from the signification of "testimony,"
as being acknowledgment in heart;
and from the signification of the names "Jesus" and "Christ,"
as being the Lord in respect to His Divine Human.
These things are said concerning the church of the Gentiles,
which is about to receive Divine truth
and acknowledge the Lord's Divine Human.
The Christian church indeed, acknowledges the Lord's Divine,
but not His Divine Human;
when, therefore, they think and speak about the Lord from doctrine,
they separate His Human from the Divine,
and make His Human like the human of another man;
when yet the Divine is in His Human as the soul is in the body.

AE 32 - Unto God and His Father (Revelation 1:6)

AE 32
Unto God and His Father,
signifies by Divine truth and Divine Good.
This is evident from this,
that "God" is the Divine truth,
and "Jehovah" is the Divine good;
therefore in the Word
the Lord is called "God" when Divine truth is treated of,
and "Jehovah" when Divine good is treated of . . .
here it is said "Father" instead of Jehovah,
because the Father of the Lord was Jehovah,
and by "Father" the like is meant as by "Jehovah."
By both "God" and "the Father" the Lord alone is meant;
for the Father was in Him as the soul is in its body . . ..
This was why He said:

But if I do it, even though you do not believe me,
believe the miracles,
that you may know and understand
that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.
(John 10:38; 14:10, 11)

Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me?
The words I say to you are not just my own.
Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing His work.
Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me. . .
(John 14:10, 11)

I and the Father are one.
(John 10:30)

But a time is coming, and has come,
when you will be scattered, each to his own home.
You will leave me all alone.
Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me.
(John 16:32)

portions Revelation 1 & 22

Revelation 1:4-8

John to the seven churches which are in Asia:
Grace be unto you, and peace,
from him which is, and which was, and which is to come;
and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne;
And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness,
and the first begotten of the dead,
and the prince of the kings of the earth.
Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,
And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father;
to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
Behold, he comes with clouds;
and every eye shall see him,
and they also which pierced him:
and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him.
Even so, Amen.
I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, says the Lord,
which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.

Revelation 22:6-7,12-14,21

And he said unto me,
These sayings are faithful and true:
and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel
to shew unto his servants the things which must shortly be done.
Behold, I come quickly:
blessed is he that keeps the sayings of the prophecy of this book.
And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me,
to give every man according as his work shall be.
I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.
Blessed are they that do his commandments,
that they may have right to the tree of life,
and may enter in through the gates into the city.

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

Revelation 21:22-27

I did not see a temple in the city,
because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.
The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it,
for the glory of God gives it light,
and the Lamb is its lamp.
The nations will walk by its light,
and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it.
On no day will its gates ever be shut,
for there will be no night there.
The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it.
Nothing impure will ever enter it,
nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful,
but only those who are written in the Lamb's book of life.
(Revelation 21:22-27)

From AR 876:
"But they that are written in the Lamb's book of life"
signifies that no others will be received into the New Church,
which is the New Jerusalem,
but they who believe in the Lord,
and live according to His commandments in the Word.

AE 28 - Firstborn

AE 28 [2]
. . . the Lord in respect to the Divine Human is called "the Firstborn,"
for the reason that all good proceeds from Him . . .

AE 22 - grace is the affection of truth from good

AE 22
Grace to you and peace,
signifies the delight of truth and good.
This is evident from the signification of
"grace" as being the delight of truth. . .
and from the signification of
"peace," as being the delight of the good of innocence and love . . ..

[2] In general, Divine grace is all that is given from the Lord;
and as all that is so given has relation to faith and love,
and faith is the affection of truth from good,
this is meant in particular by Divine grace:
for to be gifted with faith and love,
or with the affection of truth from good,
is to be gifted with heaven, thus with eternal blessedness.

AE 15 - to will & to do

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

AE 8 - spiritual perception

AE 8
. . . that which an angel speaks is out of heaven;
for when an angel communicates to a person
such things as pertain to heaven and the church,
he does not speak as a person speaks with a person,
who brings forth out of his memory what another has told him;
but that which an angel speaks flows in continuously,
not into his memory,
but immediately into his understanding,
and from that into words.

Only those who are in the good of love have spiritual perception.
This is because they receive heavenly things not only with the hearing,
but also with the love;
and to receive with the love is to receive fully,
since the things so received are loved;
moreover, those who thus receive,
see these things in their understanding,
where the sensation of their internal sight is.

ISB 20 - a spiritual fisherman

ISB 20
I was once asked how from a philosopher I became a theologian;
and I answered,
In the same manner that fishermen were made disciples
and apostles by the Lord;
and that I also from early youth had been a spiritual fisherman.
On hearing this the inquirer asked,
What is a spiritual fisherman?
I replied that a fisherman in the spiritual sense of the Word,
signifies a man who investigates and teaches natural truths,
and afterwards spiritual truths rationally.

[2] To the question, How is this demonstrated? I said,
From these passages in the Word:

Then the waters shall fail from the sea,
and the river shall be dried up and become dry,
therefore the fishers shall mourn,
and all that cast a hook into the sea shall be sad.
(Isaiah 19:5, 8)

In another place:

Upon the river whose waters were healed,
the fishers stood from Engedi;
they were there in the spreading forth of nets;
according, to its kind was their fish,
as the fish of the great sea, exceeding many.
(Ezekial 47:9-10)

And in another place:

The saying of Jehovah,
Behold, I will send to many fishers,
who shall fish the sons of Israel.
(Jeremiah 16:16)

So it is evident, why the Lord chose fishermen for disciples, and said:

Come ye after Me, and I will make you fishers of men.
(Matthew 4:18-19; Mark 1:16-17).

And to Peter after he had caught a multitude of fishes:

From henceforth thou shalt catch men.
(Luke 5:9-10)

. . . "water" signifies natural truths (AR n. 50, 932);
likewise "a river" (AR n. 409, 932);
"fish," those who are in natural truths (n. 405);
and so "fishermen" signify those who investigate and teach truths.

[4] On hearing this my interrogator raised his voice and said,
Now I can understand why
the Lord called and chose fishermen to be His disciples,
and therefore I do not wonder that He has also called and chosen you,
since, as you have said,
you were from early youth a fisherman in a spiritual sense,
that is, an investigator of natural truths;
that you are now an investigator of spiritual truths,
is because these are founded on the former.
To this he added, because he was a man of reason,
that the Lord alone knows who is adapted to receive
and to teach those things which are of His New Church,
whether someone among the primates,
or someone among their servants.
Moreover, what theologian among Christians
does not first study philosophy at college,
before he is inaugurated as a theologian;
and from what other source has he intelligence?

ISB 12 & 14 - spiritual, natural; the light of heaven

ISB 12 [4]
That a person is rational from the union of spiritual things with natural,
is evident from the analytical processes of his thought;
and that he is moral from the honorableness of his conduct
and the graces of his bearing.
These he has from the faculty of receiving influx from the Lord
through the angelic heaven, where is the very abode of wisdom and love,
thus of rationality and morality.
From these things it is perceived,
that what is spiritual and what is natural, being united in a person,
cause him to live a spiritually natural man.
The reason that he lives in a similar and yet dissimilar manner after death,
is because his soul is then clothed with a substantial body,
as in the natural world it was clothed with a material body.

ISB 14
The understanding in a person can be elevated into the light, that is,
into the wisdom in which the angels of heaven are,
according to the cultivation of his reason;
and in like manner his will can be elevated into the heat of heaven,
that is, into love, according to the deeds of his life;
but the love of the will is not elevated
except so far as the person wills and does
those things which the wisdom of the understanding teaches.