AR 198, et al. - Laodicea

AR 198
And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write,
signifies to those and concerning those,
in the church,
who alternately believe from themselves,
and from the Word,
and thus profane things holy.

AR 199
. . . "amen" is Divine confirmation for truth itself,
which is the Lord . . .

AR 200
. . . "the beginning of the creation of God" is meant the Word . . .
And what is wonderful, the Word is so written,
that it communicates with the entire heaven,
and in particular with every society there . . .

. . . the Word vivifies the affections of the will
of the person who reads it as holy,
and from the light of that life
it enlightens the thoughts of his understanding . . .

AR 206
"To be rich and increased in good,"
here signifies nothing else than to know and understand fully
such things as are of the church and heaven
which are called spiritual and theological. . .
spiritual riches and abundance are nothing else.
They who believe from themselves,
and not from the Lord through the Word,
also believe that they know the Lord through the Word,
also believe that they know and understand all things.
the reason is, that their spiritual mind is shut,
and their natural mind alone open;
and this mind, without spiritual light, sees no otherwise.

AR 208
. . . "the wretched," those who think incoherently
concerning the things of the church;
the reason is, because they of whom this is said,
at one time deny God, heaven, eternal life, and the sanctity of the Word,
and at another time acknowledge them;
therefore what they build with one hand
they destroy with the other.

AR 209
. . . "miserable and poor," in the spiritual sense of the Word,
are meant they who are without the knowledges of truth and good,
for they are spiritual miserable and poor . . . .

AR 210
. . . "the blind", in the Word,
are meant those who are without truths,
either from a defect thereof in the church and so from ignorance,
or from not understanding them;
and by "the naked" are meant those who are without goods;
for all spiritual good is acquired by truths.