AE 142 - The Consequence of Separating Truth from Good

AE 142

. . . those who separate truth from good, 
or faith from charity, 
turn away from themselves 
all influx of heaven into the goods they do, 
in consequence of which 
their goods are not good; 
for heaven flows in, that is, 
the Lord through heaven, 
into the good of a person's love; 
he, therefore, that rejects the good of charity 
from the doctrine of the church, 
and receives instead only those things 
that are called matters of faith, 
is shut out of heaven; 
truths with such have no life; 
and it is the life of truth, 
which is good, 
that conjoins, 
but not truth without life, 
or faith without charity.

 

AE 140 - Illustration of the Understanding in Regeneration

AE 140 [6-7]

It is to be noted, moreover, that a person can be 
in illustration in respect to the understanding, 
and yet in evil in respect to the will; 
for the intellectual faculty 
is separated from the voluntary 
with all who are not regenerated, 
and only with those who are regenerated 
do they act as one; 
for it is the office of the understanding 
to know, to think, and to speak truths, 
but of the will to will the things that are understood, 
and from the will, or from the love, 
to do them. 
The divorcement of the two 
is clearly manifest with evil spirits; 
when these turn themselves towards good spirits, 
they, too, understand truths, 
and also acknowledge them, 
almost as if they were illustrated; 
but as soon as they 
turn themselves away from good spirits, 
they return to the love of their will 
and see nothing of truth, 
and even deny the things they have heard.

To be able to have the understanding illustrated 
is granted to a person, for the sake of reformation; 
for in a person's will every evil resides, 
both that into which he is born 
and that into which he introduces himself; 
and the will cannot be corrected 
unless a person knows, 
and by the understanding acknowledges, 
truths and goods, and also falsities and evils; 
in no other way can he turn away from the latter
and love the former.

AE 138 - Where Satan Dwells / Spiritual Temptations

AE 138. 

In what precedes we are told in what company 
those are who are in temptations, namely, 
they are among those 
who are in falsities of every kind; 
for person, as to his body, is 
with people in the natural world, 
but as to thoughts and intentions 
he is with spirits in the spiritual world. 
When he comes into spiritual temptation, 
he is among those spirits who are in falsities; 
these bind his thoughts 
and hold them as it were bound in prison, 
and continually pour in calumnies*
against the truths of faith, 
and call forth the evils of his life; 
but the Lord continually protects a person 
by flowing in from the interior, 
and thus holds a person in constancy in resisting; 
such are spiritual temptations. 
. . . No one except those who acknowledge 
the Lord's Divine in His Human 
and who are in the spiritual affection of truth 
are let into spiritual temptations; 
the rest are natural people, 
who cannot be tempted.
__________

*misrepresentations intended to harm another's reputation
 

AE 135, 136 - Love to Him, and Faith In Him

AE 135

By the Lord's "name" in the Word 
is meant primarily the acknowledgment of 
the Divine in His Human, 
because all things of love and faith are from that; 
for Divine goods which are of love, 
and Divine truths which are of faith, 
proceed from no other source 
than from the Lord alone; 
and these cannot flow in with a person 
unless he thinks of the Lord's Divine 
at the same time that he thinks of His Human; 
nor is His Divine separate from the Human, 
but it is in the Human.

AE 136

There are two things that constitute 
a person's spiritual life, love and faith. 
Every good has reference to love, 
and every truth to faith; 
but truth with a person is of faith only so far 
as it is derived from the good of love; 
since every truth is from good, 
for it is the form of good, 
and all good is the esse (being) of truth. 
For good, when it is so formed 
as to appear to the mind, 
and through the mind in speech, 
is called truth; 
therefore it is said that good is the esse of truth.  

AE 131 (con't) - Swords Combating Against Truth and Destroying It

AE 131 [6, 10-11, 18, 19] 

As most expressions in the Word 
also have a contrary sense, 
so also has "sword;" 
in that sense it signifies falsity 
combating against truth and destroying it. 
The vastations of the church, 
which take place 
when there are no longer any truths, 
but only falsities, 
are described in the Word by a "sword,"

"They have denied Jehovah when they have said, 
It is not He; neither shall evil come upon us; 
neither shall we see sword and famine."
(Jeremiah 5:12)

In the same:

"The young men shall die by the sword; 
and their sons and their daughters 
shall die by famine."
(Jeremiah 11:22)

"Young men" are those who are in truths, 
and in the abstract, truths themselves; 
"to die by the sword" is to be destroyed by falsities; 
"sons and daughters" 
are the knowledges of truth and good; 
"famine" is a dearth of these.

In Lamentations:

"We get our bread with peril of our souls, 
because of the sword of the wilderness."
(Lamentations 5:9)

"The wilderness" is where there is no good 
because there is no truth; 
its "sword" is the destruction of truth; 
"bread" is good, 
which is got with "peril of souls," 
because all good is implanted in person 
by means of truth.

From this it is now evident 
what is signified in the Word by "the long sword," 
"the short sword," or the "sword" in both senses. 
Such things are signified by "sword" 
by reason also of appearance in the spiritual world. 
When spiritual combats take place there, 
which are combats of truth against falsity 
and of falsity against truth, 
various weapons of war, as swords, spears, 
shields, and the like are seen; 
not that the combats are maintained by these, 
but they are mere appearances, 
representative of spiritual combats. 
When falsities are fiercely combating truths, 
there sometimes appears from heaven 
the brightness or flashing of a sword 
vibrating every way, 
and causing great terror, 
by which those who are combating from falsities 
are dispersed.

This makes clear what is meant 
by these words in Ezekiel:

"They shall be horribly afraid 
when I shall brandish My sword before their faces, 
that they may tremble every moment for their soul." 
(Ezekiel 32:10-12)

And in the same:

"Prophesy and say, 
a sword, it is sharpened and also furbished, 
that it may have luster, 
that the heart may melt. 
Ah! It is made into lightning."
(Ezekiel 21:9-10, 15)

The sword causes so great terror 
because "iron," of which a sword is made, 
signifies truth in ultimates, 
and the brightness and flashing 
are from the light of heaven 
and from vibration of this light upon the sword. 
The light of heaven 
is Divine truth proceeding from the Lord. 
When Divine truth falls upon those 
who are in falsities strikes terror.

 

AE 131 - The Sword Meaning Truth Fighting Falsity

AE 131 [1, 2, 5]

"These things says He that has 
the sharp two-edged sword,"
(Revelation 2:13)
signifies the Lord, who alone combats in temptation.

. . . by "wars" in the Word are signified spiritual wars, 
and spiritual wars are wars of truths against falsities 
and of falsities against truths; 
and as "wars" in the Word have such a signification, 
all weapons of war, as "sword," "spear," 
"bow," "arrows," "shield," and many others, 
signify each some special thing 
pertaining to spiritual combat; 
especially the "sword," 
because in wars they fight with swords.

"Jesus said that He came 
not to send peace on earth, 
but a sword."
(Matthew 10:34)

Here by "sword" is meant the combat of temptation. 
It was so said, because people at that time 
were in falsities, 
and the Lord uncovered interior truths, 
and only by combats from such truths 
can falsities be cast out.

In Revelation:

"There was given unto him 
that sat on the red horse a great sword."
(Revelation 6:4)

In another place:

"Out of the mouth of him that sat on the white horse 
went forth a sharp sword, 
that with it he should smite the nations. 
The rest were killed with the sword of him 
that sat upon the horse."
(Revelation 19:15,21)

By "sword" in these passages 
is signified truth combating and destroying; 
this destruction is especially apparent 
in the spiritual world; 
there those that are in falsities 
cannot sustain the truth; 
when they come into the sphere of light, 
that is, where Divine truth is, 
they are in anguish, 
like those who are struggling with death; 
and so they are also deprived of truths 
and are vastated.

 

AE 130 - "Angels" and Divine Truths

AE 130 [4, 10]

. . . angels have no power of themselves, 
but all power is the Lord's through His Divine Truth.

It is said that by "angels" in the Word, 
in its spiritual sense, 
are meant Divine truths proceeding from the Lord, 
because these constitute the angels; 
when angels utter these truths, 
they speak not from themselves, 
but from the Lord. 
The angels not only know that this is so, 
but they also perceive it. 
The person who believes 
that nothing of faith is from himself, 
but that all faith is from God, 
also knows this, indeed, 
but he does not perceive it. 
That nothing of faith is from a person, 
but all faith is from God, 
is the same as saying 
that nothing of truth that has life is from a person, 
but all truth is from God, 
for truth is of faith and faith is of truth.