AC 7318, 7319 - Falsifications

AC 7318 [2]

. . . there is not a single truth
which cannot be falsified,
and the falsification confirmed
by reasonings from fallacies.

AC 7319

Profaned truth is falsity conjoined with truth;
and falsified truth is falsity
not conjoined but adjoined to truth,
and ruling over truth.

~ Jacob Leaves for Paddan Aram ~

Then Rebekah said to Isaac,
"I'm disgusted with living because of these Hittite women.
If Jacob takes a wife from among the women of this land,
from Hittite women like these,
my life will not be worth living."

So Isaac called for Jacob and blessed him
and commanded him:
"Do not marry a Canaanite woman.
Go at once to Paddan Aram,
to the house of our mother's father Bethuel.
Take a wife for yourself there,
from among the daughters of Laban,
your mother's brother.
May God Almighty bless you
and make you fruitful
and increase your numbers
until you become a community of peoples.
May he give you and your descendants
the blessing given to Abraham,
so that you may take possession of the land
where you now live as an alien,
the land God gave to Abraham."
Then Isaac sent Jacob on his way,
and he went to Paddan Aram,
to Laban son of Bethuel the Aramean,
the brother of Rebekah,
who was the mother of Jacob and Esau.

(Genesis 27:46; 28:1-5)

AC 7230 - Hatred; AC 7296 - An Abuse of Order; AC 7298 - Persuasion

AC 7230

. . . in so far as any one is in hatred,
so far he is in the delight of destroying . . ..

AC 7296

There is abuse of order and of correspondences
when things of order are not applied to good ends,
but to evil ones,
as to that of exercising command over others,
and to that of destroying;
for the end of order is salvation,
thus to do good to all.
From this then it is evident what is meant by
the abuse of order which is signified by "sorcerers."

AC 7298 [2]

. . . it is according to the laws of order
that no one
ought to be persuaded about truth in a moment,
that is to say,
that truth should be so confirmed in a moment
as to leave no doubt whatever about it;
because the truth which is so impressed
becomes persuasive truth,
and is devoid of any extension,
and also of any yielding quality.
Such truth is represented in the other life as hard,
and as such that it does not admit good into it
so as to become applicable.
Hence it is that in the other life
as soon as any truth is presented before good spirits
by a manifest experience,
there is soon afterward presented something opposite
which causes doubt.
In this way it is given them to think about it,
and to consider whether it be so,
and to collect reasons,
and thus to bring that truth into their minds rationally.
By this there is effected
an extension in the spiritual sight
in respect to that truth,
even to its opposites;
and from there it sees and perceives
in the understanding
all the quality of the truth,
and so can admit influx from heaven
according to the states of the objects,
for truths receive various forms
according to the circumstances.
This is the reason why the magicians
were allowed to do as Aaron did;
for thereby doubt was excited
among the sons of Israel about the miracle,
whether it was Divine;
and thus an opportunity was given them
of thinking and considering whether it was Divine,
and of finally confirming themselves that it was so.

~ Rebekah Has Twins ~

This is the account of Abraham's son Isaac.

Abraham became the father of Isaac,
and Isaac was forty years old
when he married Rebekah
daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan Aram
and sister of Laban the Aramean.

Isaac prayed to the Lord on behalf of his wife,
because she was barren.
The Lord answered his prayer,
and his wife Rebekah became pregnant.
The babies jostled each other within her,
and she said, "Why is this happening to me?"
So she went to inquire of the Lord.

The Lord said to her,

"Two nations are in your womb,
and two peoples from within you will be separated;
one people will be stronger than the other,
and the older will serve the younger."

When the time came for her to give birth,
there were twin boys in her womb.
The first to come out was red,
and his whole body was like a hairy garment;
so they named him Esau.
After this, his brother came out,
and his hand grasping Esau's heel;
so he was named Jacob.
Isaac was sixty years old
when Rebekah gave birth to them.

(Genesis 25:19-26)

AC 7233 - The Enlightened Intellectual; AC 7264-7265 - Vastation as Revealed in Exodus 7

AC 7233 [3]

For the enlightened intellectual discriminates
between apparent truths and real truths,
especially between falsities and truths,
although it does not judge
about real truths in themselves.
But the intellectual cannot be enlightened
unless it is believed
that love to the Lord and charity toward the neighbor
are the principal and essential things of the church.
He who proceeds from the acknowledgment of these,
provided he himself is in them,
sees innumerable truths;
indeed, he sees very many secrets disclosed to him,
and this from interior acknowledgment,
according to the degree
of the enlightenment from the Lord.

AC 7264 - 7265

The subject treated of in the internal sense
in what follows is
the vastation, and at last the damnation,
of those who are in falsities and evils.
The process of their devastation
is described by the eleven plagues
brought on the Egyptians and their land.

In this chapter
the subject treated of in the internal sense
is the first three degrees of vastation.
The first,
which is that mere fallacies began to reign with them,
whence came falsities,
is described by the serpent
into which the rod of Aaron was turned.
The second,
which is that truths themselves
became falsities with them,
and that falsities became truths,
is described by the blood
into which the waters were turned.
The third degree,
which is that from falsities
they reasoned against
the truths and goods of the church,
is described by the frogs out of the river.
 

~ Abraham's Servant Prays ~

Then he prayed,
"O Lord, God of my master Abraham,
give me success today,
and show kindness to my master Abraham.
See, I am standing beside this spring,
and the daughters of the townspeople
are coming out to draw water.
May it be that when I say to a girl,
'Please let down your jar that I may have a drink,'
and she says,
'Drink, and I'll water your camels too' --
let her be the one
You have chosen for your servant Isaac.
By this I will know
that You have shown kindness to my master."

Before he had finished praying,
Rebekah came out with her jar on her shoulder.
She was the daughter of Bethuel son of Milcah,
who was the wife of Abraham's brother Nahor.
The girl was beautiful, a virgin;
no man had ever lain with her.
She went down to the spring,
filled her jar and came up again.

The servant hurried to meet her and said,
"Please give me a little water from your jar."
"Drink, my lord," she said,
and quickly lowered the jar to her hands
and gave him a drink.

After she had given him a drink, she said,
"I'll draw water for your camels too,
until they have finished drinking."

(Genesis 24:12-19)
 

AC 7217 - States of Distress and States Near to Despair; AC 7225 - "Uncircumcised"

AC 7217

That distress of spirit denotes a state near to despair,
can be seen from the fact
that those who are in a state near to despair
are in internal anxiety,
and are then actually in shortness of breath.
In the external sense
this condition is a compression of the breast,
and from this as it were a difficulty of breathing;
but in the internal sense
it is anxiety on account of the deprivation
of the truth which is of faith,
and of the good which is of charity,
and from this is a state near to despair.
. . . That the deprivation of spiritual truth and good
gives birth to such anxiety,
and consequently to such distress,
cannot be believed by those
who are not in faith and charity;
for these suppose that to be in distress on this account
is weakness and sickliness of mind.
The reason is that they do not place anything real
in faith and charity,
nor therefore in those things
which belong to their souls and to heaven,
but only in wealth and eminence,
thus in the things of the body and the world.
They also think,
"What are faith and charity but mere words?
What is conscience even?
To feel distressed by these things
is the same as being distressed by such things
as a man sees within him
from the silly creations of his fancy,
and which he imagines to have some existence,
although they have not any.
Wealth and high position we can see with our eyes,
and we know that they exist
by the pleasure they afford,
for they excite in our whole bodies
an expansion and a fullness of joy."
So think merely natural men,
and so do they speak among themselves.
But spiritual men think differently,
for these have their chief life in their spirit,
thus in the things that belong to their spirit,
that is, in faith and charity;
and therefore when they believe themselves deprived
of the truths and goods of faith and charity,
they are affected with anguish,
as are those who are in the anguish of death,
for they see before them spiritual death,
that is, damnation.
As before said, to the merely natural
these persons appear weak and sickly in spirit,
but they are strong and healthy;
whereas those who are merely natural
appear to themselves strong and healthy,
and also are so as to the body,
but as to the spirit they are quite weakly,
because spiritually dead.
If they could see what kind of a spirit they have,
they would acknowledge it to be so;
but they do not see the spirit until the body has died.

AC 7225 [2]

. . . "to be uncircumcised" denotes to be impure;
and as everything impure is from impure loves,
which are the love of the world and the love of self,
therefore by "uncircumcised" is signified
that which impedes the influx of good and truth.
Where these loves are,
the inflowing good and truth are extinguished,
for they are contraries, like heaven and hell.
Hence by the "uncircumcised ear"
is signified disobedience,
and by the "uncircumcised heart"
the rejection of good and truth,
which is especially the case
when these loves have fortified themselves
with falsity as with a wall. 

~ Sarah Bears a Son ~

Now the Lord was gracious to Sarah as He had said,
and the Lord did for Sarah what He had promised.
Sarah became pregnant
and bore a son to Abraham in his old age,
at the very time God had promised him.
Abraham gave the name Isaac
to the son Sarah bore him.
When his son Isaac was eight days old,
Abraham circumcised him.
Abraham was a hundred years old
when his son Isaac was born to him.

Sarah said, "God has brought me laughter,
and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me."
And she added,
"Who would have said to Abraham
that Sarah would nurse children?
Yet I have borne him a son in his old age."

(Genesis 21:1-7)

AC 7205 - "A Stretched Out Arm"

AC 7205

. . . the signification of a "stretched out arm,"
as being divine power.
. . . arm denotes power . . .;
but a "stretched out arm"
denotes omnipotence or Divine power, is because
when an arm appears stretched out in the heavens,
there is represented power from the Divine;
and when not stretched out, but bent,
there is represented power in a general sense.
So it is then, that in the Word,
Divine power is very often expressed
by a "stretched out arm,"
and by a strong hand," . . .

I have made the earth, the man, and the beast,
that are upon the faces of the earth,
by My great power
and by My stretched out arm.
(Jeremiah 27:5)

I will lead you out from the peoples,
and will gather you out of the lands
wherein you are scattered,
by a strong hand and by a stretched out arm.
(Ezekiel 20:34)

~ The Lord Makes an Everlasting Covenant ~

When Abram was ninety-nine years old,
the Lord appeared to him and said,
"I am God Almighty;
walk before Me and be blameless.
I will confirm My covenant between Me and you
and will greatly increase your numbers."

Abram fell face down, 
and God said to him,
"As for Me, this is My covenant with you:
You will be the father of many nations.
No longer will you be called Abram;
you name will be Abraham,
for I have made you a father of many nations.
I will make you very fruitful;
I will make nations of you,
and kings will come from you.
I will establish My covenant as an everlasting covenant
between Me and you and your descendants after you
for the generations to come,
to be your God
and the God of your descendants after you.
The whole land of Canaan,
where you are now an alien,
I will give as an everlasting possession to you
and your descendants after you;
and I will be their god."

God also said to Abraham,
"As for Sarai your wife,
you are no longer to call her Sarai;
her name will be Sarah.
I will bless her and will surely give you a son by her.
I will bless her so that she will be the mother of nations;
kings of peoples will come from her."

(Genesis 17:1-8, 15-16)
 

AC 7181 - One Must Know the Difference

AC 7181

Nothing is more necessary to a person
than to know whether heaven be in him, or hell;
for in one or the other he must live to eternity.
In order that he may know this,
it is necessary that he should know what good is,
and what evil,
for good makes heaven,
and evil makes hell;
the doctrine of charity teaches about both. 

~ Abram Defeats Kedorlaomer ~

After Abram returned from defeating Kedorlaomer
and the kings allied with him,
the king of Sodom came out to meet him
in the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King's Valley).

Then Melchizedek king of Salem
brought out bread and wine.
He was priest of God Most High,
and he blessed Abram, saying,

"Blessed be Abram by God Most High,
Creator of heaven and earth.
And bless be God Most High,
who delivered your enemies into your hand."

Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything.

The king of Sodom said to Abram,
"Give me the people and keep the goods for yourself."

But Abram said to the king of Sodom,
"I have raised my hand to the Lord, God Most High,
Creator of heaven and earth,
and have taken an oath
that I will accept nothing belonging to you,
not even a thread or the thong of a sandal,
so that you will never be able to say,
'I made Abram rich.'
I accept nothing but what my men have eaten
and the share
that belongs to the men who went with me --
to Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre.
Let them have their share."

(Genesis 14:17-24)

AC 7145 - Bricks; AC 7112 - Stones

AC 7145

. . . the signification of "making bricks,"
as being to receive things fictitious and false
which are introduced by the evil.

AC 7112

. . . the internal sense of these words,
which does indeed seem remote
from the sense of the letter;
but it should be recognized
that there is nothing in the natural world
that does not correspond to some reality
in the spiritual world.
The angels present with a person
understand in a spiritual way
everything understood by the person in a natural way.
They do not know what straw is,
or what bricks are either.
Such things were well known to those angels
when they were in the world,
but they forgot about them
when they entered heaven,
because there they moved on to spiritual things.
This explains why when a person's ideas
of such things in the natural world
are perceived by angels
they convert them
into the corresponding spiritual realities.
The fact that 'straw' or 'grass'
means the basest kind of factual knowledge,
and 'bricks' fabrications and falsities,
may be seen from a number of considerations;
for herbaceous plants,
and also those that produce straw,
are nothing else than such knowledge.
But seeds, barley-grains, wheat-grains, and the like
are interior truths and forms of good;
and stones that are not man-made are truths.

~ The Tower of Bricks, Not Stone ~

Now the whole world had one language
and a common speech.
As men moved from the east,
they found a plain in Shinar and settled there.

They said to each other,
"Come, let's make bricks and bake them thoroughly."
they used brick instead of stone,
and tar for mortar.
Then they said,
"Come, let us build ourselves a city,
with a tower that reaches to the heavens,
so that we may make a name for ourselves
and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth."

But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower
that the men were building.
The Lord said,
"If as one people speaking the same language
they have begun to do this,
then nothing they plan to do
will be impossible for them.
Come, let us go down and confuse their language
so they will not understand each other."

So the Lord scattered them
from there over all the earth,
and they stopped building the city.
That is why it was called Babel --
because there the Lord confused the language
of the whole world.
From there the Lord scattered them
over the face of the whole earth.

(Genesis 11:1-9)

AC 7130 - Two Minds, Two Lights

AC 7130

There are two minds in man;
one is the natural, and the other the rational mind;
the natural mind is the mind of the external man,
but the rational mind is the mind of the internal man.
The things of the natural mind
are called memory-knowledges,
but those of the rational mind
are called intellectual reasons;
they are also distinguished from each other
by the fact that the things of the natural mind
are for the most part in the light of the world,
which is called the light of nature;
whereas the things of the rational mind
are in the light of heaven,
which light is spiritual light.
 

~ The Rain Stops ~

But God remembered Noah
and all the wild animals and all the livestock
that were with him in the ark,
and He sent a wind over the earth,
and the waters receded.
Now the springs of the deep
and the floodgates of the heavens had been closed,
and the rain had stopped falling from the sky.
The water receded steadily from the earth.
At the end of the hundred and fifty days
the water had gone down,
and on the seventeenth day of the seventh month
the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat.
the waters continued to recede until the tenth month,
on the first day of the tenth month
the tops of the mountains became visible.

(Genesis 8:1-8)

AC 7122 - Associations and Conflicts

AC 7122

. . . before truths and goods can appear,
and the man be thus associated
with those who are in heaven,
it is necessary
that these evils and falsities be uncovered,
so that he may see them and know them,
and thus learn what is true and what is good.
This cannot possibly be done
without combat with the evils and falsities in himself;
which combat takes place actually,
the evil spirits exciting falsities and evils,
and the angels excusing if the end has been good,
and instilling truths.
This is perceived as if it were in himself,
as is the case with temptation in man,
which is felt no otherwise than as being in him,
when yet it is the combat
of angels with evil spirits outside of him.

~ And the Flood Came ~

For forty days the flood kept coming on the earth,
and as the waters increased
they lifted the ark high above the earth.
the waters rose and increased greatly on the earth,
and the ark floated on the surface of the water.
They rose greatly on the earth,
and all the ark floated on the surface of the water.
They rose greatly on the earth,
and all the high mountains under the entire heavens 
were covered.
The waters rose and covered the mountains
to a depth of more than fifteen cubits.
Every living thing that moved on the earth perished --
birds, livestock, wild animals,
all the creatures that swarm over the earth,
and all mankind.
Everything on dry land
that had the breath of life in its nostrils died.
Every living thing on the face of the earth
was wiped out;
men and animals
and the creatures that move along the ground
and the birds of the air were wiped from the earth.
Only Noah was left, and those with him in the ark.

The waters flooded the earth
for a hundred and fifty days.

(Genesis 7:17-24)

AC 7102 - Vastations and Punishments

AC 7102 [2]

Mention is made in the Word
 of four kinds of vastations and punishments;
namely, the Sword, Famine,
the Evil Beast, and Pestilence;
and by the "sword"
is signified the vastation of truth
and the punishment of falsity;
by "famine," the vastation of good
and the punishment of evil;
by the "evil beast,"
the punishment of the evil from falsity;
by "pestilence,"
the punishment of the evil
not from falsity but from evil.
And as punishment is signified,
damnation is also signified,
for this is the punishment
of those who persevere in evil.

~ The Lord Asks Cain Three Questions ~

Then the Lord said to Cain,
"Why are you angry?
Why is your face downcast?
If you do what is right,
will you not be accepted?
But if you do not do what is right,
sin is crouching at your door;
it desires to have you,
but you must master it."

(Genesis 4:6-7)