AC 9346 - Abstaining From Evils; AC 9348 - The Allurement and Deception of Evils

AC 9346

. . . evils turn away the goods that are from the Lord;
namely, that those who are in evils
not only do not receive the good
which continually flow into every one from the Lord;
but also absolutely turn them away.
And therefor a person cannot possibly receive
the good of heaven
until he abstains from evils.

AC 9348

That evils allure and deceive,
is because all evils spring from
the loves of self and of the world,
and the loves of self and of the world
are born with a person,
and from this he feels
the delight of his life from the moment of his birth;
indeed, from this he has life.
Wherefore these loves,
like the unseen currents of a river,
continually draw the thought and the will of a person
away from the Lord to self,
and away from heaven to the world,
thus away from
the truths and goods of faith to falsities and evils.
Reasonings from the fallacies of the senses
are then of especial force,
and also the literal sense of the Word
wrongly explained and applied.

AC 9340 - The Two Different Sides of "Philistia"

AC 9340 [4]

The reason why "Philistia,"
which bordered on the land of Canaan
even unto Tyre and Zidon,
signified the interior truths of faith,
was that the representative Ancient Church had been there,
as is evident from the remains of Divine worship
among its inhabitants,
and referred to in the historic and prophetic books of the Word
that treat of the Philistines and the land of Philistia;
as in the prophecies of Jeremiah 25:20; 47;
Ezekiel 16:27, 57; 25:15-16; Amos 1:8; Zephaniah 2:5;
Zechariah 9:6; and Psalm 56, title; 60:8; 83:7; 108:9.
The case with the Philistines was the same
as with all the nations in the land of Canaan,
in that they represented the goods and truths of the church,
and also evils and falsities.
For while the representative Ancient Church
was among them,
they represented the celestial things which are of good
and the spiritual things which are of truth;
but when they turned aside from
genuine representative worship,
they then began to represent
the diabolical things which are of evil
and the infernal things which are of falsity.
So it is that by "Philistia,"
as by the other nations of the land of Canaan,
are signified in the Word both goods and truths,
and evils and falsities.

 

AC 9336 - Weeding and Planting Happens Little By Little

AC 9336

By little and little I will drive him out from before you.
(Exodus 23:30)

That this means a removal by degrees according to order,
is evident from the meaning of "by little and little,"
as being by degrees, thus slowly;
from the meaning of "driving out,"
when said of the falsities and evils
which are meant by the nations of the land of Canaan . . ..
It is said "by degrees according to order,"
because with the person who is being regenerated
all things are disposed according to the order of heaven;
for the regenerate person is a heaven in the least form,
and therefore there is in him
an order like that which is in heaven.

When a person is born,
in respect to hereditary evils
he is a hell in the least form;
and he also becomes a hell
insofar as he takes the hereditary evils to himself,
and adds to them things which are his own.
So it is that both from birth and from actual life
the order of his life is opposite to the order of heaven;
for from his own a person loves himself more than the Lord,
and the world more than heaven;
when yet the life of heaven
consists in loving the Lord above all things
and the neighbor as oneself.
From this it is evident that the former life,
which is of hell,
must be utterly destroyed
(that is to say, the evils and falsities must be removed),
in order that the new life,
which is the life of heaven,
may be implanted.
This cannot possibly be done hastily;
for every evil that is rooted in with its falsities
has a connection with all evils and their falsities;
and such evils and falsities are innumerable,
and their connection is so complex
that it cannot be comprehended,
not even by the angels,
but only by the Lord.
From this it is evident that the life of hell with a person
cannot be destroyed suddenly;
for if it were, he would straightway expire;
and neither can the life of heaven be implanted suddenly,
for if it were, he would also expire.
 

AC 9327 - The Power of the Lord's Divine Truth

AC 9327 [2]

All power in the spiritual world
is from the truths which are from good,
thus from the truths which proceed from the Lord.
This can be plainly seen from the fact
that the Lord disposes all things in heaven,
and all things in hell,
and also all things in the world,
by means of the truths which are from Himself;
for the Divine truth proceeding from the Lord
is that very thing through which
all things have come into existence,
and through which all things subsist.
That this is so is not comprehended by those
who think solely from what is material,
as those think who ascribe
the origin and maintenance of all things to nature.
These can have no idea about truths
except that they are devoid of power,
being matters of mere thought,
concerning which they perceive nothing essential,
and still less anything substantial;
although they know that the thought directs the whole body,
and excites its parts to motion,
precisely in accordance with its own quality;
likewise that there is nothing in the universe
that does not bear relation to the truth which is from good.
From all this it is evident
that the angels have power from the truth Divine
which is from the Lord,
and that from this they are called "powers."

AC 9325 - Births

AC 9325 [2, 3]

The things that belong to spiritual birth or regeneration
are the truths of faith and the goods of charity,
for by means of these
a person is conceived and born anew.

That such things are meant in the Word by "births,"
is from the correspondence of marriages on earth
with the heavenly marriage,
which is the marriage of good and truth.
But at the present day scarcely anyone knows,
and perhaps scarcely anyone is willing to acknowledge,
that love truly conjugial descends from these,
for the reason
that earthly and bodily things are before the eyes,
and these extinguish and suffocate
all thought about such a correspondence.
As love truly conjugial is from this source,
therefore in the internal sense of the Word
"births," and "generations," mean the things
of the new birth and generation from the Lord.
Consequently it also is that "father," "mother,"
"sons," "daughters," "sons-in-law," "daughters-in-law,"
"grandsons," and many other relations
derived from marriages,
mean goods and truths and their derivations,
as frequently shown in these explications.
From all this it can now be seen that by
"there shall not be one miscarrying, or barren, in the land"
is meant that goods and truths
shall proceed in their order in continual progression.

 

AC 9324 - Sickness

AC 9324

And I will remove sickness from the midst of you.
(Exodus 23:25)

'And I will remove sickness from the midst of you'
means protection from falsifications of truth
and adulterations of good.
This is clear from the meaning of
'removing from the midst of you' -
when it refers to falsified truths
and adulterated forms of good,
meant by 'sickness' -
as protection,
for when the Lord protects someone from them
He removes them;
and from the meaning of 'sickness'
as falsified truth and adulterated good.
These are the sicknesses of spiritual life,
for spiritual life receives its existence from
and is kept in existence by
the truths that belong to faith
and the forms of good that belong to love.
When these are falsified and perverted, a person sickens;
and when they are completely rejected in the heart
the person is dead spiritually.

AC 9320 - What Is Destroying?

AC 9320

For destroying you will destroy them.
(Exodus 23:24)

That this means that evils must be wholly removed,
is evident from the meaning of "destroying,"
when said of the evils and falsities
which are meant by the nations of the land of Canaan
and by their gods,
as being to remove.
That "to destroy" denotes to remove,
is because those who are in good and truth
never destroy those who are in evil and falsity,
but only remove them;
for the reason that they act from good,
and not from evil;
and good is from the Lord,
who never destroys anyone.
But those who are in evil and from it in falsity
endeavor to destroy,
and as far as they are able
do destroy those who are in good,
for the reason that they act from evil.
But because they then run counter
to the good which is from the Lord,
thus counter to the Divine,
they destroy themselves, that is,
they cast themselves headlong
into damnation and into hell.
Such is the law of order . . ..

AC 9311 - "To Hear"; AC 9312 - To Comply

AC 9311 - "To Hear"

"To hear," (Exodus 23:22) in the Word,
means not merely to hear in simplicity,
but also to receive in the memory and to be instructed,
likewise to receive in the understanding and to believe,
and also to receive with obedience and to do.

AC 9312 - To Comply

And do all that I speak.
(Exodus 23:22)

That this means compliance from faith and love,
is evident from the meaning of "doing what I speak,"
as being to live in accordance with
what the Lord has taught in the Word;
for the things Jehovah speaks
are those which the Word teaches,
thus which the Lord teaches,
who is the Word (John 1:1-2, 14).
To live according to these things
is to comply with them from faith and love.
Compliance from faith and love is living compliance,
because it has in it life from faith and love.
The case with compliance is the same
as with every deed of a person.
In the deed of a person there is nothing living
except love and faith.
All other things of life,
have life from and according to these;
for the life of love and faith is life from the Lord,
who is life itself.
This life is the life of heaven,
and of all who become angels.
It is the same with compliance.

 

AC 9303 - How the Angels Think of the Lord; AC 9310 - His Name

AC 9303 [4] - How the Angels Think of the Lord

But the ideas of the angels
about the Divine, the Trinity, and Proceeding,
are quite different
from the ideas of the people of the church,
for the reason . . . that the ideas of thought of the angels
are founded upon one,
whereas the ideas of thought of the people of the church
are founded upon three.
The angels think (and what they think they believe)
that there is one God,
and that He is the Lord;
that His Human is the Divine Itself in a form;
and that the holy proceeding from Him is the holy Spirit;
thus that there is a trinity,
but still it is one.

9310 [2, 3] - His Name

He who does not know
what "name" means in the internal sense,
may suppose that where the "name of Jehovah,"
and the "name of the Lord," are mentioned in the Word,
the name alone is meant;
when yet all the good of love and all the truth of faith
which are from the Lord are meant thereby . . ..

. . . "asking in the name of the Lord"
denotes asking the Lord,
because no one comes unto the Father
except through the Lord
 
Jesus answered,
"I am the way and the truth and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through Me.
(John 14:6);

and because the Lord as to the Divine Human
is Jehovah or the Father in a visible form . . ..

AC 9296 - How the Lord Implants Good and Truth

AC 9296 [2-3]

On the fifteenth day of the seventh month,
when you have gathered in the fruit of the land,
you shall keep the feast of Jehovah seven days.
(Lev. 23:39)

As by this feast is meant
the worship of the Lord from a grateful mind
on account of the implantation of good,
and thus on account of complete liberation from damnation,
it shall first be explained what the implantation of good is.

It has already been everywhere shown
that a person has two faculties of life,
namely, the understanding and the will;
and that the understanding
is allotted to the reception of truth,
and the will to the reception of good;
for there are two things to which all things in the universe,
both in heaven and in the world, bear relation,
namely, truth and good.
From this it is also evident
that these two make the life of a person,
and that the truth of faith and the good of charity
make his new life,
and that unless both of these
have been implanted in a person
he has no new life.
In what way the truth which is of faith
is sown and implanted in a person,
is known in the church;
but it is not as yet so well known in what way
the good which is of charity is implanted.

When he is a little child,
a person receives good from the Lord,
and this good is the good of innocence,
such as little children have.
This good makes the beginning of the new will in a person,
and in the succeeding age it grows in accordance
with his life of innocence with his companions
and in accordance
with his life of goodness and obedience
toward his parents and masters,
but still more with those
who afterward suffer themselves to be regenerated.
This the Lord foresees, and provides
according to the state of life that follows;
for in every present moment
the Lord foresees evil, and provides good;
and this He does
from the first thread of life even to eternity.
Afterward, when the person grows up
and begins to think from himself,
so far as he is then carried away
by the delights of the loves of self and of the world,
so far this new willing, or beginning of a new will, is closed;
and so far as he is not carried away by these delights,
so far it is opened, and is also perfected.

But how it is perfected by the implantation of truth,
shall now be told.
This new will, which is from the good of innocence,
is the dwelling place through which
the Lord enters into a person
and excites him to will what is good,
and from willing to do it.
This influx works in the person
in proportion as he desists from evils.
From this he has the faculty
of knowing, of perceiving, reflecting upon,
and understanding moral and civil truths and goods
in accordance with the delight of use.
Afterward the Lord flows in through this good
into the truths of doctrine of the church with the person,
and calls forth from the memory
such as are of service to the use of life,
and implants these in the good,
and so perfects the good.
It is from this that the good with a person
is wholly in accordance with the use of life.
If the use of life is for the neighbor
(that is, for the good of our fellow citizen, of our country,
of the church, of heaven),
and for the Lord,
then this good is the good of charity.
But if the use of life is only for self and the world,
then this beginning of the new will is closed,
and beneath it is formed a will
from the evils of the loves of self and of the world,
and from this an understanding is formed of falsities.
This latter will is closed above and open beneath,
that is, closed to heaven and open to the world.
From all this it is evident
how truths are planted in good, and form it;
and also that when a person is good
he is in heaven with the Lord;
for as before said,
the new will, in which is the good of charity,
is the dwelling place of the Lord,
and consequently is heaven in a person;
and the new understanding consequently derived
is as it were the tabernacle
through which He comes in and goes out.

AC 9286 - Regeneration; AC 9290 - Divine Truth; AC 9293 - Gifts

AC 9286 [2] - Regeneration

. . . regeneration is liberation from hell
and introduction into heaven by the Lord;
for the person who is being regenerated
is first purified from falsities,
then the truths of faith are implanted with him
in the good of charity,
and lastly this good itself is implanted,
and when this is done
the person has been regenerated,
and is then in heaven with the Lord.

AC 9290 - Divine Truth

Divine truth is order itself in the heavens;
and truths are the laws of this order.

AC 9293 - Gifts   

. . .the gifts offered to Jehovah -- that is, the Lord --
are meant such things as are of the will, or of the heart.
A person's will is what is called in the Word his "heart."
From all this it is also evident how it is to be understood
that every one will receive judgment in the other life
according to his deeds or works (Matthew 16:27);
namely, that it will be according to those things
which are of the heart,
and from this of life.

For the Son of Man is going to come
in His Father's glory with His angles,
and then He will reward each person
according to what he has done.
(Matthew 16:27)

AC 9282 - Why Laws Must Be Done

AC 9282 - Why Laws Must Be Done

As the laws of life, of worship, and of the civil state,
are not anything with a person
so long as they are in his understanding only,
but become something with him when they are in the will,
therefore it is said in the Word throughout
that they must be "done;"
for doing is of the will;
but knowing, understanding, acknowledging, and believing
are of the understanding.
These latter, however, have no being with a person
until they become of the will,
nor do they come forth with him
until they become of the understanding from the will;
for the being of a person is to will,
and the coming forth is to acknowledge
and believe therefrom.
The things which have
no such being and coming forth with a person
are not appropriated to him,
but stand without,
and are not as yet received into the house;
and therefore they do not contribute anything
to the eternal life of the person;
for unless such things have been made of the life,
they are dissipated in the other life;
those only remaining which are of the heart,
that is, of the will
and from this of the understanding.

AC 9278 - Six Days of Labor and Combat and Then the Seventh Day of Rest

AC 9278 - Six Days Then the Seventh

Six days you shall do your works.
(Exodus 23:12)

That this means the state of labor and of combat
when the person is in external delights
that are to be conjoined with internal,
is evident from the meaning of the "six days"
which precede the seventh,
as being a state of labor and of combat.
The labor and combat then are meant by the "works"
which they were to do in the six days.
By the "works of the six days,"
and the "rest on the seventh day,"
are meant those things which come forth in a person
in his first, and in his second state, during regeneration,
and also those which come forth in him
when he has been regenerated.

The Divine order is
that heaven should rule the world in a person,
and not the world rule heaven in him;
for when heaven rules a person,
then the Lord rules him.
Man is born into loving the world and himself
more than heaven and the Lord.
And because this is opposite to Divine order,
there must be an inversion by means of regeneration;
and this inversion is effected
when the things of heaven and the Lord
are loved more than those of the world and of self.
This is the reason why the person
who has been regenerated,
as also he who is in heaven,
is alternately in external and in internal things;
for external things are thereby disposed
so as to agree with internal things;
and finally to be subject to them.

When a person is in external things,
he is in labor and combat,
for he is then in a life which savors of the world,
into which the hells flow from all sides,
continually endeavoring to infest,
and even to subjugate in the person the things of heaven;
but the Lord continually protects and sets him free.
From this arise the labor and combat
which are signified by
the "six days of the week in which works are to be done."
But when the person is in internal things,
then, because he is in heaven with the Lord,
the labor and combat cease,
and he is in the tranquility of peace,
in which tranquility conjunction also is effected.
 

AC 9276 - Three Kinds of People Make Up the Church Which Is Provided by the Lord

AC 9276 [2-4, 7] 

 
The subject treated of in this verse in the internal sense
is those who are in the good of charity,
and also those who are in few truths
and yet long to be instructed,
and afterward those who are in the delights of external truth.
These three kinds of people constitute the church.
-- Those who are in the good of charity
constitute the internal of the church;
-- those who are in few truths and yet long to be instructed,
thus who from good are in the affection of truth,
constitute the external of the church;
-- but those who are in the delights of external truth
are the most external,
and constitute as it were the circumference,
and conclude the church.

The conjunction of heaven with the human race, that is,
the conjunction of the Lord through heaven with people,
is effected by means of those who are in the good of charity,
thus by the good of charity;
for in this good the Lord is present,
because the Lord is this good itself,
because it proceeds from Him.
By means of this good
the Lord conjoins Himself with those
who are in the affection of truth,
because the affection of truth is from good,
and as before said good is from the Lord.
Through these again
the Lord is with those who are in the delights of external truth,
for the delights with them are for the most part
derived from the loves of self and of the world,
and very little from spiritual good.
Such is the communication of heaven with a person,
that is, such is the communication of the Lord
through heaven with him;
consequently such is the conjunction.

That the communication and conjunction
of the Lord with the human race is of this nature,
can be seen from the fact
that such is the influx with every person of the church.
By "a person of the church" is meant
one who from the Lord is in the good of charity,
and from this in the truths of faith;
for charity from which is faith
is the very church itself with a person,
because charity and faith are from the Lord;
for the Lord flows into this good,
which is the person's internal;
and through it into the affection of truth,
which is his external;
and through this affection into the delights of external truth,
which are in his uttermost external.

. . . there must by all means be a church on earth;
and that without it the human race would perish,
because it would be like a dying person,
when the lungs and heart cease to be moved.
Wherefore it is provided by the Lord
that there shall always be a church on the earth,
in which the Lord has been revealed
by the Divine truth which is from Him;
and on our earth this Divine truth is the Word.
At the present day scarcely anyone believes this to be so,
because scarcely anyone believes
that everything of person's life
is from the Lord through heaven.
For people suppose that life is in themselves,
and that this can subsist without any connection with heaven,
that is, through heaven from the Lord,
although this opinion is utterly false.

AC 9274 [1, 2] - The Second State When Being Regenerated

AC 9274 [1, 2]

And in the seventh year you will let it lie fallow,
and will release it.
(Exodus 23:11)

That this means the second state,
when the person of the church is in good,
and thus in the tranquility of peace,
is evident from the signification of "the seventh year,"
or the Sabbath, as being when a person is in good,
and is led of the Lord by means of good . . ..

That there are two states with the person
who is being regenerated and becoming a church;
namely, the first when he is led
by means of the truths of faith to the good of charity;
and the second when he is in the good of charity,

That there are these two states with the person
who is being regenerated and becoming a church,
has been heretofore unknown,
chiefly for the reason that the person of the church
has not made any distinction between truth and good,
thus not between faith and charity;
and also because he has had no distinct perception
of the two faculties of a person,
which are the understanding and the will;
and that the understanding sees truths and goods,
and the will is affected with them and loves them.
For the same reason he could not know
that the first state of the person who is being regenerated
is learning truths and seeing them,
and that the second state is willing and loving them;
and that the things which a person has learned and seen
are not appropriated to him until he wills and loves them;
for the will is the person himself,
and the understanding is his minister.
If these things had been known,
it might have been known and perceived
that the person who is being regenerated
is endowed by the Lord
with both a new understanding and a new will,
and that unless he has been endowed with both,
he is not a new man;
for the understanding is merely the seeing
of the things which the person wills and loves,
and thus, as before said, is only a minister.
Consequently the first state
of the person who is being regenerated
is to be led through truths to good,
and the second state is to be led by means of good;
and when he is in this latter state,
the order has been inverted, and he is then led by the Lord;
consequently he is then in heaven,
and so in the tranquility of peace.

AC 9272 - The First State of Regeneration: Being Instructed

AC 9272 [1, 2]

Six years you shall sow your land.
(Exodus 23:10)

That this means the first state,
when the person of the church
is being instructed in the truths and goods of faith,
is evident from the meaning of "six years,"
as being the first state of the person
who is being regenerated;
and from the signification of "sowing the land,"
as being when the truths and goods of faith
are being implanted.
That this is meant by "sowing the land"
is because all things of the field,
of seeding, and of its produce,
mean such things as are of the church in general,
and as are of the person of the church in particular,
who is a person that has been regenerated
through the truth of faith
and the good of charity from the Lord.

He who does not know
how the case is with the state of heaven,
believes no otherwise than
that these expressions in the Word
are mere metaphors and comparisons.
But they are real correspondences.
For when the angels discourse
about the regeneration of a person by the Lord
through the truths of faith and the goods of charity,
then below in the world of spirits
there appear fields, crops, fallow lands, and also harvests;
and this by reason of their correspondence.
He who knows this can also know
that such things in the world
have been created according to correspondences;
for universal nature
(that is, the sky with the sun, moon, and stars,
and the earth with the objects of its three kingdoms)
corresponds to such things as are in the spiritual world.
From all this it is evident why
the things belonging to a field,
that is, which are sown in a field,
and are reaped from a field,
mean such things as are of the church
in general and in particular.

AC 9262 - Innocence, the Good of Love to the Lord; AC 9263 - Righteous, the Good of Love Toward the Neighbor

 AC 9262 [1, 2, 6] - Innocence, the Good of Love to the Lord

And thou shalt not slay the innocent or righteous.
(Exodus 23:7)

. . . "righteous" is predicated of
the good of love toward the neighbor,
and "innocent" of the good of love to the Lord.
The good of love toward the neighbor is exterior good,
and the good of love to the Lord is interior good.
And from the signification of "slaying," as being to destroy.
. . . that "innocent" denotes the good of love to the Lord,
is because those are in innocence who love the Lord.
For innocence is to acknowledge in the heart
that of ourselves we desire nothing but evil,
and perceive nothing but falsity,
and also that all the good which is of love,
and all the truth which is of faith,
are from the Lord alone.

. . . the Lord's Divine cannot be received
except in innocence,
from which it follows that good is not good,
unless innocence is within it,
that is, the acknowledgment that from one's own (proprium)
proceeds nothing but what is evil and false,
and that from the Lord is everything that is good and true.
To believe the former,
and to believe and also to will the latter, is innocence.
Therefore the good of innocence
is good Divine itself from the Lord with a person.

. . . "to shed blood" means in general
to do violence to good and truth;
thus to "shed innocent blood"
means to extinguish in a person
what is Divine from the Lord,
thus the Lord Himself in him;
for the truth and good in a person are the Lord Himself,
because they are from Him.

AC 9263 [1-2] - Righteous,
the Good of Love Toward the Neighbor

It is believed by the heads of the church
that he is righteous, and has been made righteous,
who is acquainted with the truths of faith
from the doctrine of the church and from the Word,
and consequently is in the trust and confidence
that he is saved through the Lord's righteousness,
and that the Lord has acquired righteousness
by fulfilling all things of the Law,
and that He acquired merit because He endured the cross,
and thereby made atonement for and redeemed mankind.
Through this faith alone
a person is believed to be made righteous;
and it is believed further
that such are they
who are called in the Word "the righteous."

Yet it is not these who are called "righteous" in the Word;
but those who from the Lord
are in the good of charity toward the neighbor;
for the Lord alone is righteous,
because He alone is righteousness.
Therefore a person is righteous,
and has been made righteous,
insofar as he receives good from the Lord,
that is, insofar, and according to the way,
in which he has in him what belongs to the Lord.
The Lord was made righteousness
through His having by His own power
made His Human Divine.
This Divine, with the person who receives it,
is the Lord's righteousness with him,
and is the very good of charity toward the neighbor;
for the Lord is in the good of love,
and through it
in the truth of faith,
because the Lord is Divine love itself.

AC 9246 - What We Are Taught in Exodus 23; AC 9253 - The "Poor"

AC 9246 - Exodus 23

In this chapter the subject treated of in the internal sense
is the shunning of the falsities of doctrine and of the evils of life;
and that when this is done,
truths of doctrine and goods of life are implanted,
and through these the person of the church
is regenerated by the Lord.

AC 9253 - The "Poor"

. . . the "poor" denote those who are in few truths,
and are in falsities from ignorance;
and that the falsities with those who are in good
are gentle and flexible,
while the falsities with those who are in evil
are hard and inflexible.

AC 9242- Confidence; AC 9244 - Believing in Salvation; AC 9245 - Doing

AC 9242 - Confidence

. . . the Faith which is called "confidence,"
is possible only with those
who are in charity toward the neighbor,
and in love to the Lord.

AC 9244 - Believing in Salvation

All who are in heavenly love,
have confidence that they will be saved by the Lord;
for they believe that the Lord came into the world
in order to give eternal life to those who believe and live
according to the commandments which He taught;
and that He regenerates these,
and so makes them fit for heaven;
and that He does this Himself alone,
from pure mercy,
without the aid of an individual.
This is meant by "believing in the Lord."

AC 9245 - Doing

. . . those who "do the Lord's sayings" or "words"
are those who love the neighbor and love the Lord;
for he who loves, does.

AC 9227 - In Heaven

AC 9227 [3]

. . . a person is not in heaven
until he does truths from willing them,
thus from the affection of charity.

AC 9209 - Outward and Inward Acts of Charity; AC 9210 - Motive Behind Acts of Charity

AC 9209 [2] - Outward and Inward Acts of Charity

In the Word it is frequently said
that benefits are to be conferred on the poor and needy.
Those who are in external truths,
and who are not yet initiated into internal truths,
believe that benefits are to be conferred on all
who need any kind of help,
and especially on beggars,
who call themselves poorer than others.
Those who do this from obedience,
because it has been so commanded, do well;
for by this outward thing
they are initiated into the internal of charity and mercy.
The internal of charity and mercy
consists in clearly discerning
who and of what character are those
upon whom benefits are to be conferred,
and in what manner to each one.
Those who are at last initiated
into the internal of charity and mercy
know that this very internal
consists in willing well and in doing well
to the internal person,
thus with such things as conduce to spiritual life;
and that the external
consists in doing well to the external person,
thus with such things as conduce to the bodily life,
but yet with such prudence,
that while the external person is benefited
the internal person may also be benefited
at the same time.
For he who does well to the external person
and ill to the internal person,
does not practice charity;
and therefore when the one is done,
the other must also be looked to.

AC 9210 [1-2] - Motive Behind Acts of Charity

. . . genuine charity does not regard
profit or recompense as the end,
but the good of the neighbor,
therefore by "thou shalt not be as a usurer"
is meant that it must be done from charity.
He who does not know what Christian charity is,
may believe that it consists
not only in giving to the needy and the poor,
but also in doing good to a fellow citizen,
to our country, and to the church,
for any cause what ever,
or for any end whatever.
But be it known that it is the end
that determines the quality of all a person's deeds.
If his end or intention is to do good
for the sake of reputation, or to acquire honors or profit,
then the good which he does is not good,
because it is done for the sake of himself,
and thus also from himself.
But if his end is to do good for the sake
of a fellow citizen, his country, or the church,
thus for the sake of the neighbor,
then the good which the person does is good,
for it is done for the sake of good itself,
which, in general, is the neighbor itself;
thus also it is done for the sake of the Lord,
for such good is not from a person,
but from the Lord,
and that which is from the Lord is the Lord's.
It is this good which is meant by the Lord in Matthew:

As much as you did
to one of the least of these My brethren,
you did to Me.
(Matthew 25:40).

As it is with good, so also it is with truth.
Those who do truth for the sake of truth,
do it also for the sake of the Lord,
because they do it from the Lord.
To do truth for the sake of truth, is to do good;
for truth becomes good
when it passes from the understanding into the will,
and from the will goes forth into act.
To do good in this manner is Christian charity.

AC 9207 - Truths Perish With Those Who Do Not Long for Good

AC 9207 [1, 6]

. . . truths which are conjoined with good
always have within them a longing to do what is good,
and at the same time, to thereby
conjoin themselves more closely with good;
or what is the same,
those who are in truths always long to do what is good,
and thus to conjoin good with their truths;
and therefore those who believe themselves to be in truths
and do not long to do what is good,
are not in truths;
that is, they are not in the faith of those truths,
howsoever they may suppose themselves to be so.

When the one longs to be
reciprocally conjoined with the other,
that is, good with truth and truth with good,
they then mutually regard each other;
but when truth sunders itself from good,
then each turns away from the other,
and looks backward, or behind itself.

AC 9188 - Sorceress, Sorceries; AC 9193 - Worship the Lord

AC 9188 [1, 2] - Sorceress, Sorceries

A sorceress.
(Exodus 22:17)

That this signifies those in whom
something of the church has been conjoined with
the falsities of the evil of the love of self,
is evident from the signification of "sorceries,"
as being the falsities of the evil of the love of self
conjoined with such things as are of the church.

The reason why these falsities
are falsities of the evil of the love of self,
is that all evil springs chiefly from this love,
and together with evil, falsity,
because they cohere together.
From this it is evident
that in such persons there is no spiritual life,
because it has been destroyed by falsities of evil;
and insofar as they have conjoined
these falsities with truths,
so far they have extinguished spiritual life within them;
and as in this way
instead of being alive, they have become dead . . ..

AC 9193 [3] - Worship the Lord

The main feature of the worship of the Ancient Church
was the worship of God under a human form,
thus of the Lord.
But when they turned aside from good to evil,
they began to worship the representatives themselves,
such as the sun, the moon, the stars,
also groves, statues, and God under various idol forms,
thus external things apart from anything internal,
as is the case when the internal person has been closed.
The internal person is closed by a life of evil;
for the Lord flows in by good,
and opens the internal person;
and consequently it is closed by evil.
And when the internal person has been closed,
truths are turned into falsities;
and where they remain as truths,
they merely serve the evils
which are of the love of self and the love of the world.
The main thing of internal worship
is to acknowledge the Lord as the one and only God,
and that everything good and true is from Him.
Those in the church who do not acknowledge Him
cannot be in good, thus neither can they be in truth.
Those acknowledge Him who are in faith,
and at the same time in the good of life;
but not those who are in evil of life.
That to acknowledge and worship the Lord
is to live according to His commandments,
that is, to live a life of faith and charity.
A life of faith consists
in doing the commandments from obedience
and a life of charity
in doing the commandments from love.



 

AC 9186 - Darkness and Enlightenment

AC 9186 [3]

In general no one can apprehend
the internal sense of the Word,
and thus the things of angelic wisdom,
unless he knows and understands
that each and all things in heaven
bear relation to good and truth;
and that nothing exists there
except from the one of these conjoined with the other.
So it is that those are in darkness
who separate the one from the other,
namely, the truth which is of faith
from the good which is of charity,
as do those who say
that a person is saved by faith alone,
that is, by the mere confidence which is of faith.
As these persons ascribe all things to faith,
and nothing to charity,
they cannot possibly apprehend anything
about those heavenly things
which are in the internal sense of the Word;
for they are in darkness concerning good,
thus also in darkness
concerning the conjunction of good and truth;
and consequently concerning truth itself,
for this is then involved in the same darkness.
From this arise so many and so great
mental wanderings and heresies.
Those who are enlightened in respect to truths,
are the few who are in the doctrine,
and at the same time in the life,
of truth.

AC 9139 [1-2] - A Field and a Vineyard; AC 9152 - When In the Good of Faith; AC 9174 - Good

AC 9139 [1-2] - A Field and a Vineyard

That "a field" denotes the church as to good,
is because the things of a field,
such as wheat and barley,
mean internal and external goods of the church;
and that "a vineyard" denotes the church as to truth,
is because "wine," which belongs to a vineyard,
means the truth of good.

That "field" and "vineyard" have this meaning
has its origin from the representatives in the spiritual world.
For fields full of wheat and barley appear before spirits
when the angels in a heaven above them
are conversing about
an assemblage of those who are in good;
and there appear vineyards full of grapes, with winepresses,
when the angels are conversing about an assemblage
of those who are in the truth of good.
These representatives are not from the fact
that there are such things upon earth;
but from the correspondences,
in that wheat and barley, or the bread made therefrom,
nourish the body,
as the good of love and of charity nourishes the soul;
and in that wine, as drink, acts in like manner.
From this it is that in the Word
the goods of love and the truths of faith
are called "meats and drinks;"
in this sense also they are heavenly meats and drinks.

AC 9152 - When In the Good of Faith

. . . when a person of the church
who is in the good of faith
reads the Word,
angels adjoin themselves to him,
and are delighted in the person,
because of the wisdom
which then inflows to them through the Word from the Lord.
From this is the conjunction of heaven with a person,
which would not be possible without the Word.
For the Word is such
that there is not even a point or a jot in its original tongue
which does not affect the angels,
and conjoin them with a person.

AC 9174 - Good

Good is like the soul in a person,
and truths are like those things
with which the soul clothes itself,
and by means of which it acts.
It is well known that each and all things in a person
live from his soul;
and so also do the truths of faith live from
the good of love to the Lord
and of love toward the neighbor.

AC 9133 - A General Affection of Good

AC 9133

So long as a general affection of good remains,
there always remains something by means of which
any particular good that has been taken away may be restored,
for particular goods and truths depend upon a general good.

AC 9113-9115 - Conscience

AC 9113-9115

With the person of the church,
Conscience is formed
by means of truths of faith from the Word,
or from doctrine drawn from the Word,
according to the reception of these in the heart.
For when a person knows the truths of faith
and apprehends them in his own way,
and afterward wills them and does them,
a Conscience is then being formed in him.
Reception in the heart is reception in the will,
for the will of a person is that which is called his "heart."

From this it is that those who have Conscience
speak from the heart what they speak,
and do from the heart what they do.
Such also have an undivided mind,
for they act in accordance
with what they believe to be true and good,
and in accordance with what they understand.
Consequently a more perfect Conscience is possible
with those who are more enlightened than others
in the truths of faith,
and who are in a clearer perception than others,
than is possible with those who are less enlightened,
and who are in an obscure perception.

Those have Conscience
who have received from the Lord a new will.
This will is itself the Conscience;
and therefore to act contrary to Conscience
is to act contrary to this will.
And as the good of charity makes the new will,
the good of charity also makes the Conscience.

AC 9103 - The External, the Spiritual, and Regeneration; AC 9105 - The Lord

AC 9103 [3-5] - The External, the Spiritual, and Regeneration

A few words more however shall be said
about the restoration of exterior good,
which makes the natural life of a person,
from interior good which makes his spiritual life.
The natural of a person sees things in the light of the world,
which light is called natural light.
A person procures for himself this light
by means of the objects
which enter through the sight and hearing,
thus by means of objects which are of the world.
Thus a person sees those things within himself,
almost as the eye sees them.
The objects which enter by these senses
appear to him at first as pleasure and delight.
Afterward the infant person (child)
distinguishes between the different delights,
from which he learns to discriminate,
and by degrees to do so more perfectly.
When light from heaven flows into these things,
the person begins to see them spiritually,
and first to discriminate
between the useful and the non-useful.
From this he begins to have an insight as to what is true;
for that which is useful to him
is to him true,
and that which is useless is not true.
This insight increases
according to the influx of the light of heaven,
until at last he discriminates
not only between truths,
but also between truths within these truths;
and he does this with greater clearness
in proportion as the communication is better opened
between the internal and external person;
for the light of heaven inflows from the Lord
through the internal person into the external person.

From this then a person has perception;
but still it is not yet spiritual perception.
This perception does not arise from natural truths,
but from spiritual truths.
Spiritual truths are those which are called the truths of faith.
The reason why spiritual perception arises from these truths,
is that the light of heaven
is Divine truth proceeding from the Lord,
and this shines as light before the eyes of the angels,
and also shines in their understandings,
and gives them intelligence and wisdom;
but with variety according to the reception of it in good.
Wherefore the knowledges of spiritual things
must be with person in his natural
in order that there may be spiritual perception;
and knowledges of spiritual things must be from revelation.
When the light of heaven flows into these knowledges,
it flows into its own,
for, as before said,
this light is the Divine truth proceeding from the Lord.
From this the person has intelligence and wisdom
in such things as are of eternal life,
and these increase according to the reception of that light,
that is, of the truths of faith in good.
Good is charity.

That the natural or external person is regenerated,
and also amended and restored,
through the internal person,
can be seen from what has now been said.
For the things which are in the external or natural person
live from the light of heaven,
for this light is living light,
because it proceeds from the Lord, who is life itself;
but they do not live from natural light,
for in itself this light is dead.
In order therefore that those things
which are in natural light may live,
here must be an influx of living light
through the internal person from the Lord.
This influx accommodates itself
according to the knowledges of truth
analogous and corresponding in the natural,
and according to the compliance there.
From this it is evident
that the external or natural of a person
must be regenerated through his internal.
In the same way must the good in the natural
that has been taken away and alienated,
be amended and restored.

AC 9105 - The Lord

. . . the Lord is the Only God,
and He rules the universal heaven,
and consequently the universal world;
for He who rules heaven rules the world also,
because the world is ruled through heaven.

AC 9093, 9094 - Division and Union

AC 9093

That "to divide" denotes to dissipate,
is because if those things
which have been associated together are divided,
they are also scattered,
as he who divides his mind destroys it.
For the mind of a person is an association of two parts,
one part being called the understanding, the other the will.
He who divides these two parts
scatters the things which belong to one part,
for one part must live from the other;
consequently the other also perishes.
It is the same with him who divides truth from good,
or what is the same, faith from charity.
He who does this destroys both.
In a word, all things which ought to be united in a one,
if divided perish.

AC 9094 [3]

All truths in a person have life from the affections
which are of some love.
Truth without life from love
is like sound flowing forth from the mouth without an idea,
or like the sound of an automaton.
Hence it is plain that the life of a person's understanding
is from the life of his will,
consequently that the life of truth is from the life of good;
for truth bears relation to the understanding,
and good to the will.
If therefore there are two truths
which do not live from the same general affection,
but from diverse affections,
they must needs be dissipated,
for they are in collision with each other.
And when truths are dissipated,
their affections also are dissipated;
for there is a general affection under which
all the truths with a person are associated together.
This general affection is good.

AC 9086 - Healing on the Sabbath; AC 9088 - When Good or Truth Are Being Perverted; AC 9089 - Dead

AC 9086 [2] - Healing on the Sabbath

Which of you shall have an ass or an ox fall into a well,
and will not straightway draw him out on the Sabbath day?
(Luke 14:5)

This was said by the Lord
when He healed the man who had the dropsy
on the Sabbath day .
In that church, the Sabbath day was most holy
because it signified the heavenly marriage,
which is the conjunction of good and truth from the Lord;
consequently healings were performed
by the Lord on the Sabbath day,
because "healing" involved the healing of the spiritual life;
and the disease of dropsy the perversion of truth and good;
thus "healing" involved the amendment
and restoration of perverted truth.
For all the Lord's miracles
involved and signified states of the church,
as in general do all Divine miracles.

AC 9088 [2] - When Good or Truth Are Being Perverted

If good or truth is being perverted by means of falsity,
then that which has been perverted
must be amended by means of truth;
within the church by means of truth from the Word,
or from doctrine which is from the Word.
The reason why this must he so,
is that truth teaches what is evil and what is false,
and in this way the person sees and acknowledges it;
and when he sees and acknowledges,
he can then be amended.
For the Lord flows into those things in a person
which the person knows;
but not into those things which he does not know;
and therefore He does not amend
what is evil or what is false
until the person has been instructed that it is evil or false.
From this it is
that those who do the work of repentance
must see and acknowledge their evils,
and thus live a life of truth.

AC 9089 - Dead   

. . . when good dies, evil takes its place;
and when truth dies, falsity takes its place;
because what is "dead" denotes evil and falsity,
and therefore those are called "dead" who will evil,
and believe falsity . . ..

AC 9079 - An Image of Heaven

AC 9079 [2]

. . . the forms of good and the truths with a person
love one another,
and in accordance with that love
they acknowledge one another,
and accordingly exist in association with one another.
This has its origin among angelic communities,
in which angels love one another,
acknowledge one another,
and live in association with one another,
depending on how similar and close together
their forms of good are.
And what is amazing,
when people governed by a similar good come together,
even if they have never seen one another before,
it is as though they have seen one another
since early childhood.
It is from this origin that the forms of good
and the truths present with a person
conjoin themselves to one another
according to the form heaven takes,
producing an image of heaven in him.
But the Lord is the source of all this,
both in heaven and in an angelic person,
that is, in a person who is being regenerated
and becoming an angel.