AE 1100 - Birds

AE 1100 [8, 20]

Jesus said, The kingdom of the heavens
is like unto a grain of mustard seed,
which a man took and sowed in his field,
and it became a tree,
so that the winged things of heaven come
and build nests in the branches thereof.
(Matthew 13:31-32; Mark 4:31-32; Luke 13:19)

"A tree from a grain of mustard seed"
signifies a man of the church,
and also a church beginning
from a very little spiritual good 
by means of truth;
for if only a very little spiritual good takes root with a man
it grows like a seed in good ground.
And as a "tree" thus signifies a man of the church,
it follows that "the winged things of heaven"
that made nests in its branches signify
the knowledges of truth and thoughts therefrom.
Anyone can see this is not a mere comparison,
for if it were,
what would be the need of such things in the Word
and of like things in the Prophets?

In Hosea:

Ephraim, as a bird shall his glory fly away,
from the birth and from the belly and from conception.
(Hosea 9:11)

I will not return to destroy Ephraim.
They shall go after Jehovah.
With honor shall they come as a bird out of Egypt,
and as a dove from the land of Assyria.
(Hos. 11:9-11)

"Ephraim" signifies
the understanding of the truths of the church;
and this is why he is compared to a bird,
and it is said, "as a bird shall his glory fly away."
Also in Hosea (7:12) he is compared to a bird,
for a "bird" signifies
everything pertaining to the understanding, including
the knowing, the thinking, and the reasoning faculties;
while everything that is delightful and pleasurable,
thus that pertains to the will and affection,
is signified by "beast and wild beast." 
"The bird from Egypt"
signifies the knowing faculty,
which pertains to the natural man;
and "the dove from Assyria" the rational faculty,
since "Egypt" signifies the knowing faculty,
and "Assyria" the rational faculty.
Here a church to be established by the Lord
is treated of. 

 

The Righteous Walk, The Rebellious Stumble

Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God.
Your sins have been your downfall!
Take words with you and return to the Lord.
Say to Him:
"Forgive all our sins
and receive us graciously,
that we may offer the fruit of our lips."

Who is wise?
He will realize these things.
Who is discerning?
He will understand them.
The ways of the Lord are right;
the righteous walk in them,
but the rebellious stumble in them.

(Hosea 14:1-2, 9)

AE 1096, 1097 - Thought About the Lord

AE 1096 [2], 1097 [3-4]

The first and foremost thought that opens heaven to man
is thought about God,
and for the reason that God is the all of heaven,
even to the extent that
whether we say heaven or God
it is the same thing.

Thought about God as Man,
in whom is the Divine trinity, that is, the trinity
called the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,
alone opens heaven;
while on the other hand thought about God as not Man,
which idea is presented in appearance as a little cloud,
or as nature in her least parts, closes heaven,
for God is Man,
as the whole angelic heaven in its complex is Man,
and every angel and every spirit is in consequence a man.
For this reason
thought about the Lord as being the God of the universe
is what alone opens heaven, for the Lord says:

The Father has given all things into the hand of the Son.
(John 3:35)

The Father has given the Son power over all flesh.
(John 17:2)

All things have been delivered to Me by the Father.
(Matthew 11:27)

All authority has been given unto Me
in heaven and on earth.
(Matthew 28:18)

All this makes clear
that man without such an idea of God as exists in heaven
cannot be saved.
The idea of God in heaven is the Lord,
for the angels of heaven are in the Lord
and the Lord is in them;
consequently to think of any other God than the Lord
is to them impossible.
Allow me to add that the idea of God as Man
has been implanted from heaven
in every nation throughout the whole world,
but what I lament,
it has been destroyed in Christendom.

For It Is Time

Sow for yourselves righteousness,
reap the fruit of unfailing love,
and break up your unplowed ground;
for it is time to seek the Lord,
until He comes and showers righteousness on you.

(Hosea 10:12)

AE 1092 - Where Are You?

AE 1092 [5]

. . . man is in the spiritual world with his head
as he is in the natural world with his body,
head meaning here his mind,
which consists of understanding, thought, will, and love,
and body here meaning his senses,
which are seeing, hearing, smelling, taste, and touch.
And as a man is in the spiritual world as to his head,
that is, as to his mind,
so he is either in heaven or in hell;
and where the mind is
there the whole man with the head and body is
when he becomes a spirit.
Moreover, man is wholly such as his conjunction is
with the societies of the spiritual world,
such an angel as his conjunction is
with the societies of heaven,
and such a devil as his conjunction is
with the societies of hell.

What Will the Outcome Be?

I heard, but I did not understand.  So I asked,
"My lord, what will the outcome of all this be?"

He replied, "Go your way, Daniel,
because the words are closed up and sealed
until the time of the end.
Many will be purified,
made spotless and refined,
but the wicked will continue to be wicked.
None of the wicked will understand,
but those who are wise will understand."

(Daniel 12:8-9)

AE 1088 - The Heart & Lungs and Their Containers of the Word

AE 1088 [2]

The Divine truth is what is called holy,
but only when it is in its ultimate,
and its ultimate is the Word in the sense of the letter;
therefore the Divine truth there is holy,
and may be called a sanctuary,
and for the reason that that sense contains and encloses
all the holy things of heaven and the church.

The appearance is that the Divine truths in the heavens,
which are called spiritual and celestial,
are more holy than the Divine truths
in the sense of the letter of the Word, which are natural;
but the Divine truths in the heavens,
which are called spiritual and celestial,
are comparatively like the lungs and heart in man,
which form the chest
only when they are encompassed by ribs,
and enclosed in the pleura and diaphragm;
for without these integuments
they could not perform their vital functions,
and even unless connected with them by bonds.
The spiritual things of the Word
are like the breathing of the lungs,
its celestial things
are like the systole and diastole of the heart,
and its natural things
are like the pleura, the diaphragm, and the ribs,
with the moving fibers attached,
by which the motions are made reciprocal. 

 

Those Who Are Wise

"Those who are wise will instruct many,
though for a time they will fall by the sword
or be burned or captured or plundered.
When they fall, they will receive a little help,
and many who are not sincere will join them.
Some of the wise will stumble,
so that they may be refined, purified and made spotless
until the time of the end,
for it will still come at the appointed time.

(Daniel 11:33-35)

AE 1083 - What We Read, What the Angels Understand

AE 1083 [2-8]

As there is a trine, one within another,
in every least particular of the Word,
and this trine is like that of effect, cause, and end,
it follows that there are three senses in the Word,
one within another,
namely, the natural, the spiritual, and the celestial;
the natural for the world,
the spiritual for the heavens of the Lord's spiritual kingdom,
and the celestial for the heavens of His celestial kingdom.
Now as there is one sense within another,
the first which is the sense of the letter for the natural world,
the second which is the internal sense
for the spiritual kingdom,
and the third which is the inmost for the celestial kingdom,
it follows that the natural man draws from it his sense,
the spiritual angel his sense,
and the celestial angel his sense,
thus everyone what is analogous to and in agreement with
his own essence and nature.
This takes place whenever a man who is led by the Lord
is reading the Word.

But let this be illustrated by examples.
When this commandment of the Decalogue is read:
"Thou shalt honor thy father and thy mother,"
a man in the world understands by "father and mother"
a father and mother on the earth,
and also all who are or may be in the place
of father or mother;
and by "honoring" he understands to hold such in honor.
But an angel of the spiritual kingdom understands
by "father" the Divine good,
and by "mother" the Divine truth,
and by "honoring" loving;
while an angel of the celestial kingdom understands
by "father" the Lord,
and by "mother" heaven and the church,
and by "honoring" doing.

When the fifth commandment of the Decalogue,
"Thou shalt not steal," is read,
by "stealing" a man understands stealing, defrauding,
and taking away under any pretense his neighbor's goods.
But an angel of the spiritual kingdom
by "stealing" understands
depriving another of his truths and goods
by means of falsities and evils,
while an angel of the celestial kingdom by "not to steal"
understands not to attribute to himself
the things that are the Lord's,
as the good of love and the truth of faith;
for thereby good becomes not good,
and truth not truth,
because they are from men.

When the sixth commandment,
"Thou shalt not commit adultery," is read,
a man by "committing adultery"
understands committing adultery and whoredom,
also thinking filthy thoughts, speaking lasciviously,
and doing obscene things.
But an angel of the spiritual kingdom
by "committing adultery" understands
falsifying the truths of the Word and adulterating its goods,
while an angel of the celestial kingdom
by "committing adultery" understands
blaspheming against the Lord, heaven, and the church.

When the seventh commandment
"Thou shalt not kill," is read,
by "killing" a man understands hating and desiring revenge,
even to murder.
But an angel of the spiritual kingdom
by "killing" understands the killing of a man's soul
by stumbling blocks to the life and by reasonings,
whereby a man is led into spiritual death,
while an angel of the celestial kingdom
by "killing" understands seducing a man into believing
that there is no God and no heaven and no hell,
for thus man perishes as to eternal life.

When the eighth commandment,
"Thou shalt not bear false witness," is read,
a man by "false witness" understands lying and defamation.
But an angel of the spiritual kingdom
by "false witness" understands asserting, confirming,
and persuading that falsity is truth and evil is good,
or on the other hand that truth is falsity and good is evil,
while an angel of the celestial kingdom
by "false witness" understands
every falsity against the Lord,
and against heaven in favor of hell.

All this makes clear how a man draws
and calls forth from the Word in the letter the natural sense,
a spiritual angel the spiritual sense,
and a celestial angel the celestial sense,
much as the wood of a tree draws its sap,
the leaf its sap,
and the fruit its sap,
from the same soil.
And what is wonderful, this is done instantly,
without the angel's knowing what the man thinks,
or the man what the angel thinks,
and yet their thoughts are one by correspondences,
as end, cause, and effect are one.
Moreover, ends are actually in the celestial kingdom,
causes in the spiritual kingdom,
and effects in the natural world.

Nebuchadnezzar Learns

Immediately what had been said
about Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilled.
He was driven away from people
and ate grass like cattle.
His body was drenched with the dew of heaven
until his hair grew like the feathers of an eagle
and his nails like the claws of a bird.

At the end of that time, I Nebuchadnezzar,
raised my eyes toward heaven,
and my sanity was restored.
Then I praised the Most High;
I honored and glorified Him who lives forever.

His dominion is an eternal dominion;
his kingdom endures from generation to generation.
All the peoples of the earth are regarded as nothing.
He does as He pleases with the powers of heaven
and the peoples of the earth.
No one can hold back His hand or say to Him:
"What have you done?"

At that same time that my sanity was restored,
my honor and splendor were returned to me
for the glory of my kingdom.
My advisers and nobles sought me out,
and I was restored to my throne
and became even greater than before.
Now I, Nebuchadnezzar,
praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven,
because everything He does is right
and all His ways are just.
And those who walk in pride
He is able to humble.

(Daniel 4:33-37)

Nebuchadnezzar's Dream Revealed to Daniel

During the night 
the mystery was reveled to Daniel in a vision.
Then Daniel praised the God of heaven and said:

"Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever;
wisdom and power are His.
He changes times and seasons;
he sets up kings and deposes them.
He gives wisdom to the wise
and knowledge to the discerning.2:
He reveals deep and hidden things;
He knows what lies in darkness,
and light dwells with Him.
I thank and praise You, O God of my fathers:
You have given me wisdom and power,
You have made known to me what we asked of You,
You have made known to us the dream of the king."

(Daniel 2:19-23)

AE 1067 - a warning; AE 1069 - two truths

AE 1067

. . . the Word in general is invalidated,
and even blasphemed,
by the claim that it allowable to change it
according to the state of the church.


AE 1069

. . . the Lord has authority over heaven and earth,
and the Word alone is holy and Divine;
for these two truths
make the church itself of the Lord on earth,
for the church is a church from this:
-- that the Lord is adored
-- and that the Word is read.

For the Lord reforms man,
and the Word teaches how man must live
that he may be reformed by the Lord;
therefore if these two truths
are not acknowledged and received
the church itself perishes,
for upon these two truths
the church is founded.

The River From the Temple

The man brought me back to the entrance of the temple,
and I saw water coming out
from under the threshold of the temple 
toward the east (for the temple faced east).
The water was coming down
from under the south side of the temple,
south of the altar.
He then brought me out through the north gate
and led me around the outside to the outer gate facing east,
and the water was flowing from the south side.

Fruit trees of all kinds will grow on both banks of the river.
Their leaves will not wither,
nor will their fruit fail.
Every month they will bear,
because the water from the sanctuary flows to them.
Their fruit will serve for food
and their leaves for healing.

(Ezekiel 47:1-2, 12)

* * * * * *

AE 1072 [2, 3]

The Word is like a garden,
that may be called a heavenly paradise,
in which are dainties and delightful things of every kind,
dainties from the fruits,
and delightful things from the flowers;
and in the middle of it trees of life,
and near them fountains of living water,
and round about trees of the forest,
and near them rivers.

[3] Again, the Word is like fruit
within which there is a nutritious pulp,
and in the middle of it seed vessels,
in which inmostly is a living germ
that germinates in good soil.
Again, the Word is also like a most beautiful infant,
which, except the face,
is enveloped in wrappings upon wrappings;
the infant itself is in the inmost heaven,
the wrappings are in the lower heavens,
and the general covering of the wrappings is on the earth.
As the Word is such
it is holy and Divine from inmosts to the externals.
 

AE 1064 - Joking About the Word

AE 1064 [3]

Fifth Kind of Profanation

This kind is not like the others that have been treated of,
for it consists in jesting from the Word and about the Word.
For those who make jokes from the Word
do not regard it as holy,
and those who joke about it hold it in no esteem.
And yet
the Word is the very Divine truth of the Lord with men,
and the Lord is present in the Word, and heaven also;
for every particular of the Word communicates with heaven,
and through heaven with the Lord;
therefore to jest from the Word and about the Word
is to bespatter the holy things of heaven
with the dust of the earth.
  
 

Stop!

"'This is what the Sovereign Lord says:
You have gone far enough, O princes of Israel!
Give up your violence and oppression
and do what is just and right.
Stop dispossessing my people,
declares the Sovereign Lord.'"

(Ezekiel 45:9)

AE 1058 - In Order to Be Saved

AE 1058 [3]   

. . . man, in order to be saved and admitted into heaven
must look to the Lord and pray to Him.

The Lord Warns Again

"I will display My glory among the nations,
and all the nations will see the punishment I inflict
and the hand I lay upon them.
From that day forward
the house of Israel will know
that I am the Lord their God.
And the nations will know
that the people of Israel went into exile for their sin,
because they were unfaithful to me.
So I hid My face from them
and handed them over to their enemies,
and they all fell by the sword.
I dealt with them
according to their uncleanness and their offenses,
and I hid My face from them."

(Ezekiel 39:21-24)

(also posted on May 7, 2016)

AE 1053 - Dominion

AE 1053 [2, 3]

The Divine order is that heaven and the church,
and consequently the holy things of these,
be the end,
and domination the means for promoting that end.
For when holy things are the end
and domination the means,
the Lord is worshiped and adored;
but when domination is the end
and holy things the means,
instead of the Lord
man is worshiped and adored. 

The Lord Will Show Himself Holy

"'I will sprinkle clean water on you,
and you will be clean;
I will cleanse you from all your impurities
and from all your idols.
I will give you a new heart
and put a new spirit in you;
I will remove from you your heart of stone
and give you a heart of flesh.
And I will put My Spirit in you
and move you to follow My decrees
and be careful to keep My laws.

(Ezekiel 36:25-27)

AE 1044 - Pearls

AE 1044 [3, 5]

That "pearls" signify the knowledges of good and truth
can be seen from the following passages.

The kingdom of the heavens
is like unto a merchant seeking beautiful pearls,
who, when he had found one precious pearl,
going away sold all that he had and bought it.
(Matthew 13:45-46)

"The kingdom of the heavens" means
both heaven and the church;
the "merchant" means
those who acquire for themselves the goods and truths
through which heaven and the church come;
"pearls" signify the knowledges of good and truth,
for these are the truths of the natural man;
"the one precious pearl" means
the knowledge respecting the Lord and His Divine;
"going away he sold all that he had and bought it"
signifies to reject what is one's own [proprium]
in order to receive life from the Lord.

The merchants of the earth
shall weep and wail over Babylon,
for no one buys their merchandise any more,
merchandise of gold and silver,
and of precious stone and pearl.
(Revelation 18:11-12)

The twelve gates of the wall of the New Jerusalem
were twelve pearls;
each one of the gates was one pearl.
(Revelation 21:21)

As "the gates to the New Jerusalem"
signify such things of doctrine from the Word
as introduce man into the church,
and these are
the knowledges of truth and good from the Word,
so the gates were seen to be "of pearls."