AC 2183 - When There Is Conflict Between Our Rational and the Natural

AC 2183 [2-4]

. . .  most people do not know
that every person possesses
an internal, a rational, and a natural,
and that these three
are quite distinct and separate from one another,
so distinct in fact that one can be at variance with another.
That is to say, the rational,
which is called the rational person,
can be at variance with the natural,
which is the natural person;
indeed the rational person is able to see and perceive
evil that is in the natural,
and if it is a genuine rational,
is able to correct it.
Before these two have been joined together
a person is unable to be whole
or to experience the serenity of peace,
since the one is in conflict with the other.
For the angels present with a person
govern his rational,
while the evil spirits present with him
govern his natural -
and this gives rise to conflict.

 If in this conflict the rational prevails,
the natural is placed in subjection,
and the person is thus endowed with conscience;
but if the natural prevails,
he is not able to receive any conscience at all.
If the rational prevails,
his natural becomes as though it too was rational;
but if the natural prevails,
the rational becomes as though it too was natural.
In addition, if the rational prevails,
angels draw nearer to that person,
implanting within him charity,
a celestial quality
which comes through the angels from the Lord;
and at the same time
the evil spirits move some distance away from him.
But if the natural prevails,
the angels move further away,
that is, more towards his interiors,
and the evil spirits draw nearer to the rational,
constantly attack it,
and fill the lower parts of his mind
with forms of hatred, revenge, deceit, and the like.
If the rational prevails,
the person enters into the serenity of peace,
and in the next life into the peace of heaven;
but if the natural prevails,
though during his lifetime he seems to experience serenity,
he enters in the next life into the unrest and torment of hell.

From these considerations
one may know the nature of a person's state
so far as his rational
 and so far as his natural are concerned.
There is nothing else
 that can bring him blessing and happiness
except the conformity of his natural to the rational
when both are joined together.
This is achieved solely by means of charity;
and charity originates wholly in the Lord.

** Thanks and Praise to the Lord ** (11/9)

Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.
Worship the Lord with gladness;
come before Him with joyful song.
Know that the Lord is God.
It is He who made us,
and we are His;
we are His people,
the sheep of his pasture.

Enter His gates with thanksgiving
and His courts with praise;
give thanks to Him and Praise His name.
For the Lord is good and His love endures forever;
His faithfulness continues through all generations.

(Psalm 100)

 

AC 2181 - Conformity and Conjunction Within Us

AC 2181

And gave it to the servant,
and he hastened to make it ready.
(Genesis 18:7)

. . . there exists in every person
an internal, a rational in a middle position, and a natural,
and that these three
are distinct and separate from one other . . ..
One should also recognize
that these should be made to conform
so that they make one,
thus so that rational good conforms with natural good,
and recognize that unless they do conform
and so are joined together,
there cannot be any Divine perception.
Since the Lord's Divine Perception is the subject here,
it is the conformity and conjunction
of the two kinds of good
that are meant in the internal sense
by the words that appear here.

** Thanks and Praise to the Lord ** (11/8)

Come, let us bow down in worship,
let us kneel before the Lord our Maker;
For He is our God
And we are the people of His pasture,
The flock under His care.

(Psalm 95:6-7)

AC 2170, AC 2173 - The Joining Together Creates Marriage

AC 2170

And Abraham hastened towards the tent to Sarah,
and said,
Take quickly three measures of meal of fine flour,
knead it, and make cakes.
(Genesis 18:6)

 'Abraham hastened towards the tent to Sarah'
means the Lord's rational good joined to His truth -
'Abraham' here being the Lord
in that state as regards good,
'Sarah' as regards truth,
'the tent' as regards the holiness of love.
'And he said' means as it related to
the Lord's state of perception at that time.
'Take quickly three measures of meal of fine flour,
knead it, and make cakes'
means the celestial existence of His love in that state -
'three' meaning that which is holy,
'meal of fine flour'
the spiritual and celestial ingredients of the rational
which were present at that time with the Lord,
'cakes' the same when both had been joined together.

AC 2173

In the historical sections of the Word
good and truth cannot be represented by anything
other than a marriage,
for they go together as two that are married.
Indeed a Divine Marriage exists
between celestial and spiritual things,
or what amounts to the same,
between the things of love and those of faith;
or what still amounts to the same,
between things of the will
and those of the understanding.
Those of the will are forms of good,
those of the understanding forms of truth.
Such a marriage exists in the Lord's kingdom in heaven,
and such also exists in the Lord's kingdom on earth,
which is the Church.
Such a marriage exists in every individual,
and in each part of him,
indeed in the most individual parts of all.
That which does not have its existence
within such a marriage has no life.
Indeed from this Divine Marriage
such a marriage exists in the entire natural order
and in each individual part of it -
though it does so under a different shape and form -
otherwise nothing would ever continue to exist there.
Because such a marriage exists in each individual part,
everything is described in the Prophets,
especially in Isaiah,
by a pair of expressions.
The one expression has to do with
that which is celestial or with good,
the other with that which is spiritual or with truth . . ..

** Thanks and Praise to the Lord ** (11/7)

Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord;
Let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.
Let us come before Him with thanksgiving
And extol Him with music and song.

For the Lord is the great God,
the great King above all gods.
In His hand are the depths of the earth,
and the mountain peaks belong to Him.
The sea is His, for He made it,
and His hands formed the dry land.

(Psalm 95:1-5)

AC 2161 - The Divine Was to Let Itself Down

AC 2161

From the actual words used in this verse
no one could possibly know that
'let now a little water be taken,
and wash your feet,
and recline under the tree'
(Genesis18:4)
meant that the Divine was to let itself down
nearer to that state of perception
which was the Lord's at that time
and was to put on something natural
so that His perception might be improved.
Indeed not the smallest trace of this arcanum (secret)
is evident in these words if understood historically.
That such is nevertheless their meaning
in the internal sense,
and that angels perceive them in that way . . ..

This shows what great and deep arcana (secrets)
lie concealed in the Word.
The same is further evident
from the meaning of the words in the internal sense,
that is to say,
from the meaning of 'water' as intellectual concepts,
from the meaning of 'feet' as natural things,
and from the meaning of 'tree' as perception.
Once these things are understood,
then what is meant in the internal sense -
namely that which has been stated -
becomes clear from the train of thought
and from its connection
with what comes before and after.

** Thanks and Praise to the Lord ** (11/6)

I will praise God’s name in song
and glorify Him with thanksgiving.

(Psalm 69:30)

AC 2159 - ''Do not, I beg of you, pass from over your servant."

Do not, I beg of you, pass from over your servant.

AC 2159 [1-3]

That 'servant' means the Lord's human
before it was made Divine
becomes clear from many places in the Prophets.
The reason, which has been given frequently already,
is this:
The Lord's human,
before He cast it off and made it Divine,
was nothing else than a servant.
His human came from the mother
and was for that reason imperfect.
From her it possessed a hereditary element
which He overcame and utterly cast aside
by means of the conflicts
brought about by temptations.
He did so even to the point
when nothing was left
of the imperfect and hereditary element
received from the mother,
indeed until at length
nothing whatever from the mother remained.
He cast off
that which came from the mother so completely
that He was no longer her son,
as He also Himself declares in Mark,

They said to Jesus,
Behold, Your mother and Your brothers are outside,
asking for You.
And He answered them saying,
Who is My mother, or My brothers?
And looking around on those
who were sitting around Him
He said, Behold My mother and My brothers!
For whoever does the will of God
is My brother, and My sister, and My mother.
(Mark 3:32-35; Matt. 12:46-50; Luke 8:20-21)

Once He had cast off this human
He put on the Human Divine,
by virtue of which He called Himself the Son of Man,
as may be seen many times in the New Testament Word,
and also the Son of God.
By 'the Son of Man' He meant truth itself
and by 'the Son of God' good itself
which belonged to His Human Essence
once this had been made Divine.
The former state was that of the Lord's humiliation
but the latter that of His glorification . . ..

In the former state, namely the state of humiliation,
when He still had the imperfect human with Him,
He worshipped Jehovah as one other than Himself,
and was indeed like a servant,
for the imperfect human is by comparison nothing else.

** Thanks and Praise to the Lord ** (11/5)

I will give You thanks in the great assembly;
among the throngs I will praise you.

(Psalm 35:18)

AC 2151-2153 - Abraham Runs From His Tent

AC 2151

And Abraham ran to meet them.
(Genesis 18:2)

That this means that the Lord approached nearer
to the things which were perceived,
is evident from the series of things in the internal sense;
for the preceding verse treats of the Lord's perception,
in which He then was;
this verse treats of His observing
the perception to be from the Divine,
and here now His approaching nearer to it
is represented and thus meant
by his running to meet them.

AC 2152

From the door of the tent.
(Genesis 18:2)

That this means from the holy
which then appertained to the Lord,
is evident from the meaning of a "tent,"
as being what is holy,
and from the meaning of the "door,"
as being the entrance into what is holy.

AC 2153

And bowed himself toward the earth.
(Genesis 18:2)

That this means the effect
of the humiliation from the consequent joy,
is evident from the meaning of "bowing himself,"
as being to humble.
Just as all interior affections
have gestures corresponding to them
in outward or bodily motions,
which gestures are the effects of the affections
as their effecting causes,
so the action of humbling oneself
has humiliation and also prostration.
That this prostration was from joy is evident,
because He observed, as before said,
the perception to be from the Divine.

~ Part of Solomon's Prayer ~

"When famine or plague comes to the land,
or blight or mildew, locusts or grasshoppers,
or when an enemy besieges them in any of their cities,
whatever disaster or disease may come,
and when a prayer or plea is made
by any of your people Israel --
each one aware of the afflictions of his own heart,
and spreading out his hands toward this temple --
then hear from heaven,
Your dwelling place.
forgive and act;
deal with each man according to all he does,
since You know his heart
(for You alone know the hearts of all men),
so that they will fear You
all the time they live in the land You gave our fathers."

(I Kings 8:37-40)

** Thanks and Praise to the Lord ** (11/4)

The Lord is the strength of His people,
a fortress of salvation for His anointed one.
Save Your people and bless Your inheritance;
be their shepherd and carry them forever.

(Psalm 28: 8-9)

 

AC 2144 - Perception and Conscience

AC 2144 [2-4]

What perception is,
is at this day utterly unknown,
because at this day no one has perception
like that of the ancients,
especially like that of the most ancients;
for these latter knew from perception
whether a thing was good,
and consequently whether it was true.
There was an influx
into their rational from the Lord through heaven,
whereby, when they thought about any holy thing,
they instantly perceived
whether it was so, or was not so.
Such perception afterwards perished with a person,
when he began to be no longer in heavenly ideas,
but solely in worldly and corporeal ones;
and in place of it there succeeded conscience,
which also is a kind of perception;
for to act contrary to conscience
and according to conscience
is nothing else than to perceive from it
whether a thing is so or is not so,
or whether it is to be done.

But the perception of conscience
is not from good that flows in,
but it is from the truth
that from infancy has been implanted
in the rational of people
in accordance with the holy of their worship,
and which has afterwards been confirmed,
for this alone
do they in such case
believe to be good.
So it is that conscience is a kind of perception,
but from such truth;
and when charity and innocence
are insinuated into this truth by the Lord,
there comes into existence the good of this conscience.
From these few observations
we can see what perception is.
But between perception and conscience
there is much difference.

As regards the Lord when He lived in the world,
all His thought was from Divine perception,
because He alone was a Divine and Celestial Man;
for He was the only one in whom was Jehovah Himself,
from whom was His perception.
His perceptions were more and more interior
in proportion as He approached
more nearly to union with Jehovah.

** Thanks and Praise to the Lord ** (11/3)

Praise be to the Lord,
For He has heard my cry for mercy.
the Lord is my strength and my shield;
my heart trusts in Him,
and I am helped.
My heart leaps for joy
and I will give thanks to Him in song.

(Psalm 28:6-7)

AC 2135, 2136, 2138, 2140 - Genesis 18

AC 2135

From this chapter we may see, in a special manner,
what is the nature of the internal sense of the Word,
and how the angels perceive it
when it is being read by people.
From the historical sense of the letter
we can understand nothing else than
that Jehovah appeared to Abraham
under the form of three men;
and that Sarah, Abraham, and his lad
prepared food for them, namely,
cakes made of the meal of fine flour,
a "son of an ox," and also butter and milk;
which things, though they are true historicals
describing what really took place,
are still not so perceived by the angels;
but the things which they represent and signify (mean)
are what are perceived,
altogether abstractedly from the letter . . ..
Thus,
instead of the things historically related in this chapter,
the angels perceive
the state of the Lord's perception in the Human,
and the communication with the Divine at that time,
before the perfect union
of His Divine Essence with the Human Essence,
and of the Human Essence with the Divine Essence,
which state is also that concerning which
the Lord thus speaks:

No one has seen God at any time;
the Only-begotten Son,
who is in the bosom of the Father,
He has set Him forth.
(John 1:18)

AC 2136

In the first place,
this chapter treats concerning
the Lord's state of perception in the Human
and concerning the communication with the Divine
at that time,
before the perfect union
of His Human Essence with the Divine Essence . . ..

AC 2138

In the second place,
this chapter treats concerning
the Lord's perception in that state
respecting the rational with Him,
in that it would put off the Human,
and be made Divine.

AC 2140

In the third place,
the chapter treats concerning
the Lord's grief and anxiety over the human race,
because people were so greatly permeated
with the love of self,
and from this with the evil greediness
of exercising command over others
from what is evil and false,
for whom in that state He interceded,
and obtained that those should be saved
with whom there should be goods and truths;
and who these are, is recounted in order.

** Thanks and Praise to the Lord ** (11/2)

I will praise You, O Lord,
With all my heart;
I will tell of all Your wonders.
I will be glad and rejoice in You;
I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High.

(Psalm 9:1-2)

AC 2130 - The Door to Heaven; AC 2133 - Glorifying the Lord

AC 2130 [2]

. . . heaven can never to eternity be filled,
still less is the door shut;
but the more who come there,
the more blessed and happy
are those who are in heaven;
because the harmoniousness is so much the stronger.

AC 2133

Of the Lord's Divine mercy
heaven has on two or three occasions
been so far opened to me
that I have heard a general glorification of the Lord,
which is of such a nature
that a number of societies glorified the Lord together
and with one mind,
and yet each society did so by itself,
with distinct affections and the derivative ideas.
It was a heavenly voice, heard far and wide,
to an extent so immense
that the hearing failed to reach its end
(as fails the sight when it beholds the universe),
and this was attended with
inmost joy and inmost happiness.

A glorification of the Lord has also been
sometimes perceived like an irradiation flowing down
and affecting the interiors of the mind.
This glorification takes place when the angels
are in a state of tranquillity and peace,
for it then flows from their inmost joys,
and from their happinesses themselves.

 

** Thanks and Praise to the Lord ** (11/1)

I will give thanks to the Lord
because of His righteousness;
and will sing praise to the name
of the Lord Most High.

(Psalm 7:17)

 

AC 2116 - Justification and Faith

AC 2116 [1, 2-3]

But in regard to justification,
the case is not as is commonly supposed,
namely, that all evils and sins are wiped away
and utterly blotted out when people,
as they imagine, believe --
even if it were their last and dying hour --
however they may have lived in evils and in misdeeds
during the entire course of their lives . . ..

The truth is
that with those who have meditated and practiced
acts of hatred, of revenge, of cruelty, and of adultery,
and who thereby have lived in no charity,
the life contracted from them
awaits them after death,
indeed, so do all things of that life
both in general and in particular,
which return in succession;
and from this comes their torment in hell.
But with those who have lived
in love to the Lord and in charity toward the neighbor,
their evils of life also all remain,
but they are tempered by the goods
which during their life in the world
they have received from the Lord
by means of a life of charity;
and thereby they are uplifted into heaven,
indeed, are withheld from the evils
which they have appertaining to them,
so that these do not appear.
Those who in the other life
doubt their having evils with them,
because the evils do not appear,
are let into them until they know
that the case is really so,
and then are again uplifted into heaven.

This then is what is meant by being justified;
for in this way people come to acknowledge
not their own righteousness,
but that of the Lord.
As to its being said
that those are saved who have faith --
this is true;
but in the Word by "faith" nothing else is meant
than love to the Lord and charity toward the neighbor,
and thus a life from these loves.

The doctrinal things and dogmas of faith are not faith,
but belong to faith;
for they are one and all
for the sake of the end
that a person may become such as they teach him to be,
as may be clearly seen from the Lord's words
that in love to God and love toward the neighbor
consist all the law and the prophets,
that is, the universal doctrine of faith.