AC 1668 - the Lord's temptations as a child

AC 1668 [2]
The life of evil spirits is in cupidities and falsities, and the life of angels is in goods and truths; and so comes infestation and combat. This is so with all who have conscience; and much more was it the case with the Lord when a child who had perception. With those who have conscience there arises therefrom a dull pain; but with those who have perception, a sharp one, and the more interior the perception is, the sharper is the pain. From this we may see what was the nature of the Lord's temptation in comparison with that of men, for He had interior and inmost perception.

AC 1651-1658 - Genesis 14

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%2014&version=31

AC 1651
This chapter treats of the Lord's temptation combats, which are represented and signified by the wars here described.

AC 1652
The goods and truths in the external man, but which only appeared as goods and truths, were the things from which the Lord fought in His childhood against evils and falsities.
The apparent goods and truths are signified by the kings names in verse 1
(Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of Goiim);
but the evils and falsities against which He fought are signified by the kings named in verse 2
(Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Adma, and Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and with the king of Bela, this is Zoar);
and these were unclean (verse 3).

AC 1653
These evils and falsities against which He fought did not show themselves earlier than in childhood; and then they burst forth, which is signified by their previously serving Chedorlaomer (verse 4).

AC 1654
The Lord then warred against and conquered the persuasions of falsity of all kinds, which are the Rephaim, the Zuzim, the Emim, and the Horites (verses 5, 6); next, the falsities and evils themselves, which are the Amalekite and the Amorite (verse 7); afterwards the other falsities and evils, which are the kings named in verses 8 to 11.

AC 1655
Apparent truths and goods, which are not in themselves truths and goods, took possession of the external man (verse 12); and the rational man which is "Abram the Hebrew," perceiving this, laid claim to it and liberated it (verses 13 to 16).

AC 1656
After these combats, evil and falsity submitted themselves (verse 17).

AC 1657
The Lord's internal man in the interior man, or the Divine in the rational, is Melchizedek, from whom came the benediction after the combats (verse 19 to 20). The tithes are the remains, or the states of good and truth from the combats (verse 20).

AC 1658
The evil and the infernal spirits, being overcome, begged for life, and did not care for other things; but nothing was taken from them by the Lord, because He had no strength from their evils and falsities; but they were given into the power of good spirits and angels (verse 21 to 24).

AC 1645 - the Lord's kingdom is simply a kingdom of ends and uses

AC 1645
... the angels who are with a person
attend to nothing else than the ends and uses,
and elaborate nothing else from man's thought.
All other things,
which are ideal and material,
they care nothing for;
because these are far below their sphere.

AC 1630 - believing in eternal life

AC 1630
... if nothing were believed except that which is apprehended,
nothing would be believed respecting the things of interior nature;
still less concerning the things that are of eternal life.
Hence comes the insanity of our age.

AC 1616 - innocence of infancy, innocence of wisdom

AC 1616 [5]
... the innocence of infancy,
unless by means of knowledges
it becomes the innocence of wisdom,
is of no use...

AC 1594 - the internal person and mutual love

AC 1594 [5]
The internal man is nothing else than mutual love. A person's very spirit or soul is the interior person that lives after death; and it is organic, for it is adjoined to the body while the person is living in this world. This interior person, that is, the soul or spirit, is not the internal person; but the internal person is in it when mutual love is in it. The things that are of the internal person are the Lord's; so it may be said that the internal person is the Lord....
But he who is in mutual love acknowledges and believes that all that is good and true is not his, but the Lord's; and his ability to love another as himself - and what is more, if he is like the angels, his ability to love another more than himself - he acknowledges and believes to be the Lord's gift; from which gift and its happiness he recedes, so far as he recedes from the acknowledgment that it is the Lord's.

AC 1594 - the internal man & how subtle the love of self

AC 1594 [2]
The reason why man does not know, and if told, does not believe, that there is an internal man, is that he lives in corporeal and sensuous things, which cannot possibly see what is interior. Interior things can see what is exterior, but never exterior things what is interior.... All this is a consequence of his living in corporeal and sensuous things; which kind of life, viewed in itself, scarcely differs from the life of brute animals, with the single exception that a man has ability to think and reason about the things he meets with; but ... which brute animals have not....

[3]
This cause, however, is not what most disunites the external man from the internal, for a very great part of mankind are in such unbelief, and the most learned more than the simple. But what disunites is principally the love of self; the love of the world, also, but not so much as the love of self. The reason why man does not know this is that he lives in no charity, and when he is living in no charity it cannot be apparent to him that a life of the love of self and its cupidities is so contrary to heavenly love. There is also in the love of self and its cupidities something glowing, and consequently delightful, which so affects the life that the man hardly knows otherwise than that therein consists eternal happiness itself; and therefore many place eternal happiness in becoming great after the life of the body, and in being served by others, even by angels; while they themselves desire to serve no one, except for the sake of self, with a hidden view to being served themselves. Their saying that they desire to serve the Lord alone is false, for they who are in the love of self desire to have even the Lord serve them, and so far as this is not done they fall back. Thus they carry in their heart the desire to become lords themselves, and to reign over the universe. It is easy to conceive what kind of government this would be, when many, nay, when all, were like this. Is not that government infernal in which every one loves himself more than any other? This lies hidden in the love of self.

AC 1571 - "strife between the herdmen of Abram of Lot

AC 1571
... in worship the internal person desires to regard the ends that belong to the kingdom of God, and the external person desires to regard the ends that belong to the world, thus there arises a disagreement which manifests itself in the worship, and that so plainly that the smallest bit of such disagreement is noticed in heaven. This is what is signified by the "strife between the herdmen of Abram's cattle and the herdmen of Lot's cattle." (Genesis 8:7)

AC 1555 - wisdom

AC 1555 [2]
Few, if any, know how man is brought to true wisdom.
Intelligence is not wisdom, but leads to wisdom;
for to understand what is true and good
is not to be true and good,
but to wise is to be so.

AC 1515 - doctrine, charity

AC 1515
... what is doctrinal is nothing, unless the man becomes as it teaches, that is, unless he has the life as the end in view; and besides, there are many among the infernals who had been pre-eminently skilled in doctrinal things. But they who have lived a life of charity are all in heaven.

AC 1496 - different truths

AC 1496
Truth in the memory is a matter of memory-knowledge;
rational truth is this truth confirmed by reason;
intellectual truth is conjoined with an internal perception that it is so.
This intellectual truth existed with the Lord in His childhood,
and with Him opened the way to celestial things.

AC 1480 - food, spiritual & natural

AC 1480
Such is every man; his spirit is greatly delighted to know, so that there is scarcely anything it desires more; this is its food, by which it is sustained and refreshed, as the external man is by earthly food. This sustenance, which is that of his spirit, is communicated to the external man, to the end that this may be adapted to the internal man.
But the various foods succeed one another in the following order:
celestial food is all the good of love and charity from the Lord;
spiritual food is all the truth of faith:
on these foods the angels live;
and from them comes forth the food, likewise celestial and spiritual,
but of a lower angelic degree, on which angelic spirits live;
from this again there comes a still lower celestial and spiritual food,
which is that of reason and thence of memory-knowledge,
on which good spirits live;
and lastly comes corporeal food,
which is proper to man while he lives in the body.
These foods correspond to one another in a wonderful manner.
From this it is also evident why and how memory-knowledge is very pleasing to itself; for the case is the same as it is with appetite and taste; and therefore eating, with man, corresponds to memory-knowledges in the world of spirits; and appetite and taste themselves correspond to the desire for these knowledges; as is evident from experience....

AC 1470 & 1472 - the internal man

AC 1470
There are two kinds of happiness in the internal man,
to which correspond two kinds of delight in the external man;
one is of good,
the other is of truth;
celestial happiness and delight are of good,
spiritual happiness and delight are of truth.

AC 1475
The internal man regards nothing but the use.

(For more from this number, see the Comments.)

AC 1458 - heavenly light

AC 1458
And, what is wonderful,
in heaven those are in light
who are in a state of wisdom and intelligence,
exactly according to their state;
those being in the greatest light
who are in the state of the highest wisdom and intelligence;
but the wisdom there is that of love and charity,
and the intelligence is that of faith in the Lord.

AC 1450 - the celestial things of love

And he removed from thence into the mountain on the east of Bethel.
(Genesis 12:8)

AC 1450
The order was that the Lord would first of all be imbued from infancy
with the celestial things of love.
The celestial things of love are love to Jehovah and love to the neighbor,
and innocence itself in these.
From these, as from the veriest fountains of life,
flow all other things both in general and particular,
for all other things are merely derivations.
These celestial things are insinuated into man
chiefly in his state of infancy up to childhood,
and in fact without knowledges;
for they flow in from the Lord, and affect him,
before the man knows what love is and what affection is;
as may be seen from the state of infants,
and afterwards from the state of early childhood.
These things in man are the remains
which have been spoken of several times;
and which are insinuated by the Lord and stored up for use in after life...
As the Lord was born as are other men,
He was also introduced according to order into celestial things,
and in fact by degrees from infancy to childhood,
and afterwards into knowledges;
and how the case was with Him in regard to these is described in this verse,
and is represented in what follows by Abraham's sojourn in Egypt.

AC 1426 - "Abram" - "Abraham"

AC 1426
That by "Abram" is represented the Lord as to His Human Essence,
is evident from everything that is said of Abram.
Afterwards he represents the Lord
both as to the Human and also the Divine Essence,
and he is then called "Abraham."

AC 1414 - the Lord's Human was also made Divine

AC 1414
In Him alone there was a correspondence
of all the things of the body with the Divine
- a most perfect correspondence,
infinitely perfect,
giving rise to a union of the corporeal things with Divine celestial things,
and of sensuous things with Divine spiritual things;
and thus He was the Perfect Man, and the Only Man.

AC 1404 - Abram, Isaac, Jacob

AC 1404
Abram, who is first treated of, represents in general the Lord,
and specifically the celestial man;
Isaac, who is afterwards treated of, in like manner
represents in general the Lord, and specifically the spiritual man;
Jacob also in general represents the Lord, and specifically the natural man.
Thus they represent the things which are of the Lord,
of His kingdom, and of the church.

AC 1388 - it begins with the Lord

AC 1388
... the Lord wills that all goods may be communicable,
and that all may be affected by mutual love,
and so be happy.

AC 1357 - three universal kinds of idolatry

AC 1357
There are three universal kinds of idolatry.
The first comes of the love of self;
the second, of the love of the world;
the third, of the love of pleasures.
All idolatrous worship has one or another of these for its ends.
The worship of idolaters can have no other ends;
for they know not and care not for eternal life; they even deny it.
These three kinds of idolatry are signified by
the three sons of Terah.
(Abram, Nahor, & Haran)

AC 1332 - "a hundred years"

AC 1332
That "a hundred years" signifies the state of that church in general, is evident from what has been stated and shown before concerning numbers and years, namely, that they signify times and states. But what and of what quality the states were that are signified by the number "a hundred" years, and by the numbers of years in the following verses of this chapter, it would be tedious to explain; moreover the subject is intricate.

AC 1326 - "Therefore He called the name of it Babel."

AC 1326
Therefore He called the name of it Babel. (Genesis 11:9)
That this signifies... the kind of worship in which interiorly there is the love of self, and therefore all that is filthy and profane.
... in proportion as anything from the love of self, or from man's proprium is introduced into worship, in the same proportion internal worship departs, that is, it comes to pass that there is no internal worship. Internal worship consists in the affection of good and the acknowledgment of truth, and in proportion as the love of self, that is, in proportion as man's proprium makes its approach, or enters in, the affection of good and the acknowledgment of truth depart, or go out. The holy can never be with the profane, just as heaven cannot be with hell....

AC 1321 - light and darkness

AC 1321
When the worship of self succeeds in the place of the worship of the Lord, then all truth is not only perverted, but is even abolished, and at last falsity is acknowledged in the place of truth, and evil in the place of good. For all the light of truth is from the Lord, and all darkness is from man; and when man takes the place of the Lord in worship, the light of truth becomes thick darkness, and thick darkness is seen as the light.

AC 1311 - the limits of evil

AC 1311 [2]
... all evil has its limits as far as which it is permitted to go; but when it goes beyond these limits, in incurs the penalty of the evil. This is so both in particular and in general. The punishment of evil is what is then called a judgment. And because it appears at first as if the Lord did not see or observe that the evil exists, - for when a man does evil without punishment, he supposes that the Lord troubles not Himself about the matter, but when he undergoes the penalty he begins to think that the Lord sees, and even that the Lord inflicts the punishment....

AC 1294 & 1296 - "Come, let us make bricks"

AC 1294
And they said a man to his fellow,
come, let us make bricks,
and let us burn them to a burning.
And they had brick for stone,
and bitumen had they for mortar. (Genesis 11:3)

"And they said a man to his fellow,"
signifies that it was begun;
"Come, let us make bricks,"
signifies falsities which they fashioned for themselves;
"and let us burn them to a burning,"
signifies evils from the love of self.
"And they had brick for stone,"
signifies that they had falsity instead of truth;
"and bitumen had they for mortar,"
signifies that they had the desire for evil instead of good.

AC 1296
Come, let us make bricks. That this signifies falsities which they fashioned for themselves, is evident from the signification of "brick." In the Word, "stone" signifies truth, and therefore "brick," because it is made by man, signifies falsity; for brick is stone artificially made.

AC 1288 - A song of love

AC 1288 [3]

A song of love.
My heart hath willed a good word;
my tongue is the pen of a rapid writer.
Thou are beauteous above the sons of man;
grace is poured upon they lips.
Ride upon the word of truth;
and of the gentleness of righteousness;
thy right hand shall teach thee wonderful things.
(Psalm 45:1, 2, 4)

"To ride upon the word of truth and of the gentleness of righteousness,"
is to teach the doctrine of truth and of good.
Here, as elsewhere in the Word,
the terms "word," "lip," and "tongue" signify distinct things;
that they are things of doctrine concerning charity is evident,
because it is called "a song of loves."
Of this doctrine is predicated beauty above the sons of man,
grace of lips, and a right hand that teaches wonderful things.

AC 1285 - how the will of the Lord is done

AC 1285
The doctrine is one when all are in mutual love, or in charity.
Mutual love and charity cause them all to be a one,
although they are diverse, for they make a one out of varieties.
All men, how many soever they may be, even myriads of myriads,
if they are in charity or mutual love, have one end,
namely the common good, the Lord's kingdom, and the Lord Himself.
Varieties in matters of doctrine and of worship
are like the varieties of the senses and the viscera in man,
as has been said, which contribute to the perfection of the whole.
For then, through charity, the Lord inflows and works in diverse ways,
in accordance with the genius of each one; and thus,
both in general and in particular, disposes all into order,
on earth as in heaven.
And then the will of the Lord is done,
as He Himself teaches,
as in the heavens, so also upon the earth.

AC 1274 - Five marvelous things in the other life

AC 1274
Among the marvelous things in the other life are:
First - Communities of spirits and of angels, as regards position, appear distinct and separate from one another, even though places and distances in the next life are nothing other than varieties of state.
Second - Position and distances are relative to the human body, so that people on the right thus seem to be stationed on the right whichever way the body turns. The same applies to those on the left, or in any other direction.
Third - No spirits and angels are so far away that they cannot be seen; yet no more come into view than the Lord allows to do so.
Fourth - When the Lord allows it, spirits whom others are thinking about - for example, people who had been known to them in some way during their lifetime - are present in an instant. They come close enough to be heard or touched, or stand a little way off, notwithstanding the fact that they may have been several thousands of miles away, even up among the stars. The reason is that spatial distance is meaningless in the next life.
Fifth - With angels no idea of time exists; it is the same in the world of spirits, but more completely so in heaven. What then must the situation be with the Lord, to whom every single human being is inescapably most fully present and beneath His view and Providence?
These things seem unbelievable but are nevertheless true.

AC 1264 - Genesis 10: the geneology of Noah

AC 1264
From all this it may now be seen that although in this chapter mere names of nations and families occur, yet it contains, in general, not only all the differences of worship as regards the goods of charity and the truths of faith that were in the Ancient Church, but also all that are in any church; in fact it contains more than any man could ever believe. Such is the Word of the Lord.

AC 1226 - intelligence, memory-knowledges, knowledge

AC 1226
... neither intelligence, nor memory-knowledge, nor knowledge,
has life except from the wisdom which is of charity,
which is of the Lord.

AC 1197 - the Philistines and faith only

AC 1197
In the Ancient Church all those were called Philistines who talked much about faith, and declared that salvation is in faith, and yet had no life of faith. Therefore they pre-eminently were called "the uncircumcised," which means those who are devoid of charity.... Because they were such, they could not but make the knowledges of faith matters of memory; for the knowledges of spiritual and celestial things and the very mysteries of faith themselves become nothing but matters of memory, when the man who is skilled in them is devoid of charity. The things of the memory are like things dead unless the man is such that from conscience he lives according to them. When he does this, then at the same time as they are things of memory they are also things of life; and only then do they remain with him for his use and salvation after the life of the body. Knowledges are nothing to a man in the other life, even though he may have known all the arcana that have ever been revealed, unless they have affected his life.

AC 1176 - the faith which saves

AC 1176
... love to the Lord and a love toward the neighbor are faith itself...
people may receive from the Lord love to Him
and love toward the neighbor;
and this is the faith which saves.

AC 1171 - spice, precious stone, gold

AC 1171 [4]
The traders of Sheba and Raamah,
these were thy traders in the chief of every spice,
and in every precious stone,
and they gave gold for thine aids. (Ezekiel 27:22,23)

This is said of Tyre.
What is signified here by "Sheba and Raamah" is evident from their merchandise, which is said to be spice, the precious stone, and gold.
"Spice" in the internal sense is charity;
"the precious stone" is faith from charity;
and "gold" is love to the Lord,
all which are celestial things signified by "Sheba."
Properly the knowledges of such things are "Sheba" (and therefore they are here called "merchandise"), wherewith all who are becoming people of the church are imbued; for no one can become a person of the church without knowledges.

1171 [5]
Similar things were represented by the queen of Sheba, who came to Solomon and brought him spices, gold, and precious stones (I Kings 10:1-3); and also by the wise men from the east who came to Jesus when He was born, and fell down and worshiped Him, and opening their treasures, they offered Him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh (Matthew 2:1, 11), by which was signified good, - celestial, spiritual, and natural.

AC 1158 - friendship & politeness

AC 1158 [2]
Friendship is not charity, and still less is politeness charity -
these are degrees below charity;
but the more they derive from charity the more sincere they are.

AC 1150 - the essential of worship

AC 1150
External worship is said to correspond to internal when that which is the essential is in the worship. The essential is the adoration of the Lord from the heart; which is by no means possible unless there is charity, or love to the neighbor. In charity or love toward the neighbor the Lord is present, and then He can be adored from the heart. Thus the adoration is from the Lord, for the Lord gives all the ability and all the being in the adoration. Hence it follows that such as is the charity in a man, such is his adoration or worship.

AC 1139 - four different styles in the Word

AC 1139
It has been stated already that there are four different styles in the Word.
The first, which was that of the Most Ancient Church, is such a is that from the first chapter of Genesis to this chapter (Genesis 10).
The second is the historical style, as in the following books of Moses,
and in the rest of the historical books.
The third is the prophetic style.
The fourth is the intermediate between the prophetic style and that of common speech.
Concerning these styles see AC 66.
AC 1140
In this chapter, and in the following one as far as Eber, the most ancient style is continued; but here it is intermediate between the style of made-up history, and that of true history. For by Noah, and his sons, Shem, Ham, Japheth, and Canaan, nothing else was meant, nor is anything else meant, than the Ancient Church regarded abstractedly as to its worship....

AC 1141
They who are here named "sons of Japheth" were all such as had external worship corresponding to internal; that is, who lived in simplicity, in friendship, and in mutual charity. Nor did they know any other doctrinal teachings than external rites.
They who are named "sons of Ham" were those who had internal worship corrupted.
They who are called "sons of Canaan" were those who had external worship separate from internal.
They who are called "sons of Shem" were internal men, and worshiped the Lord and loved the neighbor; whose church was nearly like our true Christian Church.
(AC 66 is quoted in Comments.)

AC 1114 - Who do we meet after death?

AC 1114
Angels and spirits, or men after death, when permitted by the Lord, can meet all whom they have known in this world, or whom they have heard of - whoever they desire - can see them as present, and can converse with them. Wonderful to say, they are at hand in a moment and are most intimately present; so that it is possible to converse not only with friends, who usually find one another, but also with others that have been respected and esteemed.

AC 1100 - It is utterly useless...

AC 1100
It is utterly useless for a man to know many things if he does not live according to what he knows. For knowing has no other end than that the man may thereby become good.

AC 1096 - "Blessed be Jehovah"

AC 1096
Blessed be Jehovah the God of Shem. (Genesis 9:26)
That this signifies every good for those who worship the Lord from internals, is evident from the signification of "blessed." Blessing involves every good: celestial, spiritual, and natural; and all these are signified by "blessing" in the internal sense. In the external sense, by "blessing" is signified every worldly, corporeal, and earthly good; but these, if they be a blessing, must necessarily be so from internal blessing; for this alone is blessing, because it is eternal, and is conjoined with every felicity, and is the very being of blessings. For what really is, unless it is eternal? every other being ceases to be.
It was customary among the ancients to say, "Blessed be Jehovah;" by which they meant that from Him is every blessing, that is, every good; and the same was also a formula of thanksgiving because the Lord blesses, and has blessed.

AC 1079 - the difference between love of self and charity

AC 1079
When there is no charity, there is the love of self, and therefore hatred against all who do not favor self. Consequently such persons see in the neighbor only what is evil, and if they see anything good, they either perceive it as nothing, or put a bad interpretation upon it. It is just the other way with those who are in charity. By this difference these two kinds of men are distinguished from one another, especially when they come into the other life; for then with those who are in no charity, the feeling of hatred shines forth from every single thing; they desire to examine every one, and even to judge him; nor do they desire anything more than to find out what is evil, constantly cherishing the disposition to condemn, punish, and torment. But they who are in charity scarcely see the evil of another, but observe all his goods and truths, and put a good interpretation on what is evil and false. Such are all the angels, which they have from the Lord, who bends all evil into good

AC 1069 - "vine"

AC 1069 [5]
Since the "vine" signifies the spiritual church, and the primary thing of the spiritual church is charity, in which the Lord is present, and by means of which He conjoins Himself with man, and Himself alone works every good, therefore the Lord compares Himself to a vine, and describes the man of the church, or the spiritual church, in these words:

I am the true vine and My Father is the husbandman;
every branch in Me that bears not fruit He takes away;
and every branch that bears fruit,
He will prune it, that it may bear more fruit;
abide in Me,and I in you;
as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine,
so neither can ye, except ye abide in Me;
I am the vine, you are the branches;
he that abides in Me, and I in him, the same bears much fruit;
for without Me you can do nothing;
this is My commandment,
that you love one another, even as I have loved you.
John 15:1-5,12

AC 1053 - "And the bow shall be in the cloud"

AC 1053
And the bow shall be in the cloud. (Genesis 9:16)
That this signifies man's state....
A person or a soul in the other life is known among angels from his sphere, and that this sphere, whenever it pleases the Lord, is represented by colors, like those of the rainbow, in variety according to the state of each person relatively to faith in the Lord, thus relatively to the goods and truths of faith.

AC 1050 - a living soul

AC 1050
No man can ever live, still less as a man, if he has not something living in him, that is, if he has not something of innocence, of charity, and of mercy, or something from it like or emulating it. This something of innocence, charity, and mercy man receives from the Lord during infancy and childhood, as is evident from the state of infants and also from that of childhood. What the man then receives is preserved in him, and the things that are preserved are called in the Word "remains," and are of the Lord alone in the man. What is thus preserved is what causes the man, when he comes to adult age, to be capable of being a man.

AC 1038 - "This is the sign of the covenant."

AC 1038
This is the sign of the covenant.
That a "covenant" is the presence of the Lord in love and charity, is evident from the nature of a covenant. Every covenant is for the sake of conjunction, that is, for the sake of living in mutual friendship, or love. Marriage also is for this reason called a covenant. There is no conjunction of the Lord with man except in love and charity; for the Lord is love and mercy itself. He will to save every one and draw him with mighty power to heaven, that is, to Himself. From this every one may know and conclude that no one can ever be conjoined with the Lord except through that which He Himself is, that is, except by becoming like or making one with Him - in other words, by loving the Lord in return and loving the neighbor as himself. By this alone is the conjunction effected. This is the veriest essence of a covenant. When there is conjunction from this, it then follows manifestly that the Lord is present. There is indeed the very presence of the Lord with every man, but it is nearer or more remote exactly according to the approach to love or the distance from love.

[2] Because the "covenant" is the conjunction of the Lord with man by love, or what is the same, the presence of the Lord with man in love and charity, it is called in the Word the "covenant of peace;" for "peace" signifies the kingdom of the Lord, and the kingdom of the Lord consists in mutual love, in which alone is peace.

For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed;
but My mercy shall not depart from you,
neither shall My covenant of peace be removed,
said Jehovah that has mercy on you. (Isaiah 54:10)

AC 1025 - "And with your seed after you." (Genesis 9:9)

AC 1025
And with your seed after you.
That this signifies those who are being created anew, is evident from the signification of "seed"...inasmuch as "seed" signifies in the literal sense posterity, but in the internal sense faith; and since, as has been often said, there is no faith except where there is charity, it is charity itself which is meant in the internal sense by "seed." From what follows it is evident that not only the man who is within the church is meant, but also the man who is without the church, thus the whole human race. Wherever there is charity, even among nations most remote from the church, there is "seed," for heavenly seed is charity. No man can do anything of good from himself, but all good is from the Lord.

AC 1013 - an image of God

AC 1013 [2]
An "image" signifies spiritual love, that is love to the neighbor, or charity....

That charity is the "image of God" is most clearly evident from the very essence of love, or charity. Nothing else than love and charity can make an image and likeness of any one. It is the essence of love and charity to make of two as it were one. When one person loves another as himself, and more than himself, he then sees the other in himself, and himself in the other.

...to those who love each other - the will of the one is the will of the other, they are interiorly as it were, joined together, and only in body distinct the one from the other.

[3]
Love to the Lord makes a person one with the Lord, that is, a likeness of Him. So does charity, or love toward the neighbor, make him one with the Lord, but as an image.

[4]
...what makes a likeness and image of God, namely, love to the Lord and love toward the neighbor....

AC 1006 - a person is a person

AC 1006
A person is a person from love and charity,
but he is a wild beast from hatred, revenge, and cruelty.

AC 989 & 997 - charity, regeneration, use

AC 989
... no one can ever say that he is regenerate unless he acknowledges and believes that charity is the primary thing of his faith, and unless he is affected with love toward the neighbor, and has mercy on him. Of charity his new will is formed. Through charity the Lord brings about good, and thereby truth, but not through faith without charity. There are some who perform works of charity from obedience alone, that is, because it is so commanded by the Lord, and yet are not regenerate. These, if they do not place righteousness in their works, are regenerated in the other life.

AC 997
There is no charity apart from works of charity; it is in its practice or use that charity consists. He who loves the neighbor as himself perceives no delight in charity except in its exercise, or in use; and therefore a life of charity is a life of uses. Such is the life of the whole heaven; for the kingdom of the Lord, because it is a kingdom of mutual love, is a kingdom of uses. Every pleasure therefore which is from charity, has its delight from use.

AC 977 - the regenerate & unregenerate

AC 977
With the regenerate person there is a new will and a new understanding, and this new will and new understanding are his conscience, that is, they are in his conscience, and through this the Lord works the good of charity and the truth of faith. With an unregenerate person there is not will, but instead of will there is cupidity, and a consequent proneness to every evil; neither is there understanding, but mere reasoning and a consequent falling away to every falsity.

AC 959 - sleep

AC 959
The Lord guards a person with most especial care during their sleep.

AC 940 - the New Jerusalem

AC 940
... by the New Jerusalem is meant the Lord's kingdom in heavens and on earth...

and further on in the same number, the question is raised, "Where is the Lord?"

... He is to be found everywhere, and that He hears and knows all men.

AC 925 - And Jehovah smelled an odor of rest.

AC 925
And Jehovah smelled an odor of rest. (Genesis 8:21)
... this signifies that worship therefrom was grateful to the Lord, that is,
worship from charity and the faith of charity...

[3]
An odor of rest is one of peace, or a grateful sense of peace. Peace taken in the complex embraces all things of the Lord's kingdom both in general and in particular, for the state of the Lord's kingdom is a state of peace, and in a state of peace comes forth all the happy states that result from love and faith in the Lord.

AC 916 - questions

AC 916 [2]
The church is called spiritual when it acts from charity, or from the good of charity - never when it says that it has faith without charity, for then it is not even a church. For what is the doctrine of faith but the doctrine of charity? And to what purpose is the doctrine of faith, but that people should do what it teaches? It cannot be merely to know and think what it teaches, but only that what it teaches should be done.... Just in the same way, what is a commandment for? Not that a person may know, but that he may live according to the commandment. For then he has in himself the kingdom of the Lord, since the kingdom of the Lord consists solely in mutual love and happiness.

AC 905 - more on freedom

AC 905
... "go forth from the ark" (Genesis 8:16) signifies freedom.
The presence of the Lord involves freedom, the one following the other.
The more present the Lord, the more free the man;
that is, the more a man is in the love of good and truth,
the more freely he acts.

AC 904 - And God spake unto Noah. (Genesis 8:15)

AC 904
The Lord speaks with every person,
for whatever a person wills and thinks that is good and true,
is from the Lord.

AC 896 - to know, to acknowledge, to have faith

AC896
To know is the first thing of regeneration, to acknowledge is the second, to have faith is the third.

[2]
Those who have faith know, acknowledge, and believe; they have charity, and they have conscience. Consequently faith can never be attributed to anyone, that is, he cannot be said to have faith, unless he is such as these people are. This then is what being regenerate entails. Merely knowing something that belongs to faith is an activity of memory which does not involve any assent of the rational. Acknowledging that which belongs to faith is in itself a rational assent brought about by certain causes and for the sake of certain ends. But having faith is an activity of conscience, that is, of the Lord working through conscience.

AC 892 - the Lord & freedom

AC 892
A person never comes into a state of freedom until he has been regenerated, and is led by the Lord through love for what is good and true.

A life of freedom, or freedom, is simply and solely being led by the Lord.

AC 878 - "hands"

AC 878 [3]
..."hands" denote power...

"This is what the LORD says—
the Holy One of Israel, and its Maker:
Concerning things to come,
do you question me about my children,
or give me orders about the work of my hands?
"It is I who made the earth
and created mankind upon it.
My own hands stretched out the heavens;
I marshaled their starry hosts. (Isaiah 45:11-12)

denoting the Divine power.

The regenerate are often called in the Word "the work of the hands of Jehovah."

AC 863 - the Lord has wonderfully provided

AC 863
... the Lord has wonderfully provided
that what is of the understanding
should be separated from what is of the will of man,
by a certain medium, which is conscience,
and in which He may implant charity.
Without this wonderful providence
no one could ever have been saved.

AC 842 - "wind", temptation, order

AC 842
And God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters receded.
(Genesis 8:1)

That this signifies the disposal of all things into their order is evident from the signification of "wind" in the Word. All spirits, both good and evil, are compared and likened to are also called "winds;" and in the original tongue "spirits" are expressed by the same word that means "winds."

[2] When evil spirits are thus dispersed (by "east winds"), the state of commotion and turbulence is succeeded by serenity, or silence, as is also the case with the man who has been in temptation; for while in temptation he is in the midst of such a band of spirits, but when they are driven away or dispersed, there follows as it were a calm, which is the beginning of the disposal of all things into order.

[3] Before any thing is reduced into a state of order, it is most usual that things should be reduced into a confused mass, or chaos as it were, so that those which do not well cohere together may be separated, and when they are separated, then the Lord disposes them into order.

AC 823 - the life here and there

AC 823
Whatever a man has done in the life of the body successively returns in the other life, and so does all that he has even thought. When his enmities, hatreds, and deceits return, the persons against whom he has indulged hatred and has clandestinely plotted are made present to him, and this in a moment. Such is the case in the other life.... The thoughts a man has harbored against others make their appearance openly, for there is a perception of all thoughts. Hence come lamentable states, for there, concealed hatreds break out openly. With the evil, all their evils deeds and thoughts thus return to the life; but it is not so with the good. With these all their good states of friendship and life return, attended with the highest delight and happiness.

AC 806 - "dry land"

AC 806
"Dry land" is where there is no water, that is, where there is no longer anything spiritual, still less celestial. A persuasion of falsity extinguishes and as it were suffocates everything spiritual and celestial; as every one may know from much experience, if he pays attention. They who have once conceived opinions, though most false, cling to them so obstinately that they are not even willing to hear anything that is contrary to them; so that they never suffer themselves to be informed, even if the truth be placed before their eyes.... Such are they who spurn every truth, and that which they admit, they pervert and thus immerse in fantasies. It is they who are signified here by the "dry land"...

AC 789 - every person

AC 789
Speaking generally, every person, even the regenerate,
is such that if the Lord did not withhold him from evils and falsities
he would cast himself headlong into hell.

AC 784 - the cherubim & the flame of a sword

AC 784 [2]
...man does not even know that there are spirits, still less that there are angels, with him, and supposes himself to be entirely alone when without companions in the world, and when he is thinking by himself. And yet he is continually in the company of spirits, who observe and perceive what the man is thinking, and what he intends and devises, as fully and plainly as if it were manifest before all in the world. This the man is ignorant of, so closed to him is heaven, and yet it is most true. The reason is that is heaven were not so closed to him while he is in no faith, still less in the truth of faith, and still less in charity, it would be most perilous to him. This is also signified by the words:

Jehovah God drove out the man,
and He placed at the east of the Garden of Eden the cherubim,
and the flame of a sword that turned itself
to keep the way of the tree of lives. (Genesis 3:24)

AC 760 - he who loves himself

AC 760
He who loves himself,
hates all who do not render him service;
so that the man who loves himself is very far from heavenly love and charity,
which is to love the neighbor more than one's self,
and the Lord above all things.

AC 732 - how the will & understanding regard each other

AC 732
Things of the understanding regard those of the will
as being different and distinct from themselves;
but things of the will regard those of the understanding
as being united, or as one with them;
for the understanding is from the will.

AC 725 - good & truth

AC 725
If you withdraw good from truth,
nothing whatever remains but words.

AC 711 - "enter into the ark" Genesis 7:1

AC 711
That to "enter into the ark," is to be prepared, has has been stated before (Gen. 6:18). But there it signified that he was prepared for salvation as to things of the understanding, which are truths of faith; but here as to things of the will, which are goods of charity. Unless a man is prepared, that is, furnished with truths and goods, he can by no means be regenerated, still less undergo temptations. For the evil spirits who are with him at such a time excite his falsities and evils; and if truths and goods are not present, to which they may be bent by the Lord, and by which they may be dispersed, he succumbs. These truths and goods are the remains which are reserved by the Lord for such uses.

AC 680 - goods and truths are the genuine foods

AC 680 [2]
...it must be sufficiently evident how corporeal is man at the present day...he is disposed to take everything that is said in the Word in the most gross and material sense. The Lord Himself clearly teaches what is meant in His Word by "food" and "bread." Concerning "food" he speaks in John:

Jesus said, Labor not for the meat (or food) which perishes,
but for that meat which endures to eternal life,
which the Son of man shall give to you. (John 6:27)

And concerning "bread" He says, in the same chapter:

Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead.
This is the Bread which comes down from heaven,
that a man may eat thereof and not die.
I am the living Bread which came down from heaven;
if any man eat of this Bread he shall live eternally. (John 6: 49-51, 58)

But at the present day there are men like those who heard these words
and said:
"This is a hard saying; who can hear it?"
and who "went back and walked no more with Him" (John 6:60,66),
to whom the Lord said:
"The words that I speak unto you you they are spirit and they are life"
(John 6:63).

AC 654 - What is faith?

AC 654
... faith is by no means the knowledge of the things that are of faith, or that are to be believed. This is only memory-knowledge; whereas faith is acknowledgment. There can however be no acknowledgment with any one unless the principal of faith is in him, which is charity, that is, love toward the neighbor and mercy. When there is charity, then there is acknowledgment, or faith.

AC 645 - "pitch it within and without with pitch" (Gen. 6:14)

AC 645
In the original text it is not indeed said that it was to be "pitched with pitch,"
but a word is used which denotes "protection,"
derived from "expiate" or "propitiate," and therefore it involves the same.
The expiation or propitiation of the Lord is protection from inundation of evil.


From Merriam-Webster:
expiate - to make amends or give satisfaction for wrong done;
make up for, put right
propitiate - to gain or regain the favor for:
to appease, pacify; intercede mediate
inundate - to cover with, or as if with a flood
(How appropriate as this story is about Noah and the ark!)

AC 624 - Gen. 6:11 "The earth was filled with violence"

AC 624
That a state not of the church is here treated of, is evident from the fact that here and in the following verses of this chapter the name "God" is used, but in preceding verses "Jehovah." When there is not a church "God" is the term used, and when there is a church "Jehovah;" as in the first chapter of Genesis, when there was not church, it is said "God;" but in the second chapter, when there was a church, it is said "Jehovah God." The name "Jehovah" is most holy, and belongs only to the church; but the name "God" is not so holy, for there was no nation that had not gods, and therefore the name God was not so holy. No one was permitted to speak the name "Jehovah" unless he had knowledge of the true faith; but any one might speak the name "God."

AC 612 - judgment & righteousness

AC 612
They will seek Me daily and desire knowledge of My ways,
as a nation that does righteousness,
and forsakes not the judgment of their God;
they will ask of Me the judgments of righteousness,
and will long for the approach of God. (Isaiah 58:2)

Here "judgment" denotes the things which are of truth,
and "righteousness" those which are of good.
"Doing judgment and righteousness" became, as it were,
an established formula for doing what is true and good.

AC 592 - the Lord turns all evil of punishment into good

AC 592
... there are those who make it their delight, even their greatest delight,
to hurt and punish others;
and those who are hurt and punished think it is from the Lord....
But still the Lord turns all the evil of punishment into good;
so that there is never anything but good from the Lord.

AC 575 - ten or tenths = remains

AC 575
The number "ten" in the Word, as also "tenths,"
signify and represent remains,
which are preserved by the Lord in the internal man,
and which are holy, because they are of the Lord alone...

AC 548 - the Lord rules

AC 548
...the Lord alone rules both heaven and the universe,
for He who rules the one must rule the other...
in the Lord's kingdom,
the laws of which are eternal truths,
all of which are based on the one great law
that people should love the Lord above all things
and their neighbor as themselves,
and even more than themselves,
if they would be as the angels....

AC 519 - to "walk with God"

AC 519
... to "walk with God" is to teach and live according to the doctrine of faith,
but to "walk with Jehovah" is to live the life of love.

AC 503 - life from use, by use, and according to use

AC 503
The life of love, and of the derivative faith,
such as the Most Ancient Church enjoyed,
is life while in the performance of use,
that is in the good and truth of use:
from use, by use, and according to use,
is life given by the Lord;
there can be no life in what is useless,
for whatever is useless is cast away.

AC 494 - a sobering truth

AC 494
The truth is that every one makes hereditary evil by his own actual sins,
and adds it to the evils that he has inherited,
and in this way it accumulates,
and remains in all the descendants,
nor is it abated except in those who are being regenerated by the Lord.
In every church this is the principal cause of degeneration....

AC 477 - faith grounded in love to the Lord makes a person man

AC 477
... in a general sense every one is called a man who has human understanding;
for man is man by virtue of understanding,
and according thereto one person is more a man than another,
although the distinction of one man from another
ought to be made according to his faith
as grounded in love to the Lord.

AC 452 - heaven consists in this

AC 452
... heaven consists in this,
that from the heart we wish better for others than for ourselves,
and desire to be of service to others in order to promote their happiness,
and this for no selfish end,
but from love.

AC 432 - "seventy and seventy-seven-fold"

AC 432
... the number "seven," wherever it occurs in the Word, signifies what is holy, or most sacred; and this holiness and sanctity is ... according to the things that are being treated of. From this comes the signification of the number "seventy," which comprises seven ages; for an age, in the Word, is ten years. When anything most holy or sacred was to be expressed, it was said "seventy-seven-fold," as when the Lord said that a man would forgive his brother not until seven times, but until seventy times seven (Matthew 18:22), by which is meant that they should forgive as many times as he sins, so that the forgiving should be without end, or should eternal, which is holy.

AC 419 - to BE such as faith teaches is celestial

AC 419
As celestial things are the holy things of love and the derivative goods,
so spiritual things are the truths and goods of faith;
for it belongs to faith to understand not only what is true, but what is good.
The knowledges of faith involve both.
But to be such as faith teaches is celestial.

AC 408 - when the Lord came

AC 408
....when there is no faith, faith can no longer be profaned, because men no longer believe what is declared unto them; and those who do not acknowledge and believe, but only know, cannot profane.... It was for this reason that the Lord did not come into the world until the Jewish Church acknowledged and believed nothing.

AC 391 - what goes around...

AC 391
... for whatever anyone desires for another returns upon himself.

AC 362 - the doctrine of faith called "Cain"

AC 362
... such is the nature of man's thought that while intent on some one thing he sets it before any other, especially when his imagination claims it as a discovery of his own, and when the love of self and the world puff him up. Everything then seems to agree with and confirm it, until at last he will swear that it is so, even if it is false.

AC 325 & 326 - Cain & Abel

AC 325
The Most Ancient Church had faith in the Lord through love;
but there arose some who separated faith from love.
The doctrine of faith separated from love was called "Cain;"
and charity, which is love toward the neighbor, was called "Abel".

AC 326
The worship of each is described, that of faith separated from love,
by the "offering of Cain;"
and that of charity,
by the "offering of Abel"....
That worship from charity was acceptable,
but not worship from separated faith.

AC 305 - "cast out of the garden of Eden"

AC 305
Therefore Jehovah God sent him forth from the garden to Eden,
to till the ground from which he was taken." Gen. 3:23

To be "cast out of the garden of Eden,"
is to be deprived of all intelligence and wisdom;
and to "till the ground from which he was taken,"
is to become corporeal, as he was previous to regeneration.

... for a "garden" signifies intelligence, or the understanding of truth;
and "Eden," being significative of love, signifies wisdom, or the will of good.

AC 301 - profanation

AC 301
When men have become inverted orders of life, and are unwilling to live, or to become wise, except from themselves and from their proprium, they reason about everything they hear respecting faith, as to whether it is so, or not; and as they do this from themselves and from their own things of sense and of memory-knowledge, it must needs lead to denial, and consequently to blasphemy and profanation, so that at length they do not scruple to mix up profane things with holy. When a man becomes like this, he is so condemned in the other life that there remains for him no hope of salvation. For things mixed up by profanation remain so mixed up, so that whenever any idea of something holy presents itself, an idea of something profane that is conjoined with it is also there, the consequence of which is that the person cannot be any society except one of the damed. ... The separation of profane and holy ideas when thus conjoined cannot be effected except by means of such infernal torment that if a man were aware of it, he would as carefully avoid profanation as he would avoid hell itself.

AC 300 - "Jehovah God"

AC 300
... as the angels do not possess the least power of themselves,
as indeed they acknowledge,
but solely from the Lord,
and as there is but one God,
therefore by "Jehovah God" in the Word
is meant the Lord alone.

AC 276 - to "eat bread in the sweat of the face"

AC 276
That to "eat bread in the sweat of the face"
signifies to be averse to what is celestial
is evident from the signification of "bread."
By "bread" is meant everything spiritual and celestial,
which is the food of the angels....

AC 259 - remains are stored up by the Lord

AC 259
A serpent can injure only the lowest natural things,
... not the interior natural things in a person, still less his spiritual things,
and least of all his celestial things,
which the Lord preserves and stores up in man without his knowledge.
What are thus stored up by the Lord are called in the Word, "remains".

AC 223 - "face of the Lord"

AC 223
As the "face of the Lord" is mercy, peace, and every good,
it is evident that He regards all from mercy,
and never averts His countenance from any;
but that it is man, when in evil, who turns away his face....

AC 205, 206 - "...you shall be as God, knowing good & evil."

AC 205 & 206
... for such is the nature of the love of self that it is unwilling to submit to the Lord's leading, and prefers to be self-guided, and being self-guided to consult the things of sense and of memory-knowledge as to what is to be believed.

Who have a stronger belief that their eyes are open, and that as God they know what is good and evil, than those who love themselves, and at the same time excel in worldly learning? And yet, who are more blind?

AC 167 - the arcana (or secrets) in each verse of the Word

AC 167
But if anyone knew how many arcana each particular verse contains, he would be astounded. Each one contains so many arcana that they cannot possibly be numbered off. Yet this is barely evident at all from the letter. In short, the words of the letter, just as they are, are represented vividly in the world of spirits in wonderful array. For the world of spirits is a representative world, and whatever is represented vividly is perceived by angelic spirits in the second heaven even as to the minor details within those representatives. And the things perceived by angelic spirits in this way angels in the third heaven perceive abundantly and fully in inexpressible angelic ideas. In accordance with the Lord's Good Pleasure, they perceive them in complete and boundless variety. Such is the Word of the Lord.

AC 126, 127, 129 - the tree of the knowledge of good & evil

AC 126
But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat of it;
for in the day that you eat thereof, dying you shall die. (Gen. 2:17)

These words...signify that it is allowable to become acquainted with what is true and good by means of every perception derived from the Lord, but not from self and the world; that is, we are not to inquire into the mysteries of faith by means of the things of sense and of the memory, for in this case the celestial of faith is destroyed.

AC 127
A desire to investigate the mysteries of faith by means of the things of sense and of the memory, was not only the cause of the fall of the posterity of the Most Ancient Church...but it is also the cause of the fall of every church, for hence come not only falsities, but also evils of life.

AC 129
He who assumes as a principle that nothing is to be believed until it is seen and understood, can never believe, because spiritual things cannot be seen with the eyes, or conceived by the imagination. But the true order is for man to be wise from the Lord, that is, from His Word, and then all things follow, and he is enlightened even in matters of reason and of memory-knowledge. For it is not by any means forbidden to learn the sciences, since they are useful to his life and delightful; nor is he who is in faith prohibited from thinking and speaking as do the learned of the world; but it must be from this principle - to believe the Word of the Lord, and, so far as possible, confirm spiritual and celestial truths by natural truths, in terms familiar to the learned world. Thus his starting-point must be the Lord, and not himself; for the former is life, but the latter is death.

AC 99, 104, 112 - from the Lord

AC 99
... there is in every man the life of the Lord,
which causes him to have perception.

AC 104
At this day it is unknown what Perception is.
It is a certain internal sensation,
from the Lord alone,
as to whether a thing is true and good....

AC 112
Be it know moreover
that there is no wisdom which is not from love,
thus from the Lord;
nor any intelligence except from faith,
thus also from the Lord;
and there is no good except from love,
thus from the Lord;
and no truth except from faith,
thus from the Lord.

AC 85 & 87 - the celestial man

AC 85 [2]
Such is the quality of the celestial man that he acts not according to his own desire, but according to the good pleasure of the Lord, which is his "desire." Thus he enjoys internal peace and happiness...

AC 87
Another reason why the celestial man is the "Sabbath," or "rest," is that combat ceases when he becomes celestial. The evil spirits retire, and good ones approach, as well as celestial angels; and when these are present, evil spirits cannot possibly remain, but flee far away. And since it was not the man himself who carried on the combat, but the Lord alone for the man, it is said that the Lord "rested."

AC 55 & 59 - the Lord blesses & defends

AC 55 [3]
The earth is "replenished" or filled, when there are many truths and goods;
for when the Lord blesses and speaks to a person, that is, works upon him,
there is an immense increase of good and truth...

AC 59 [2]
Unless the Lord defended man every moment,
yea, even the smallest part of every moment, he would instantly perish,
in consequence of the indescribably intense and mortal hatred
which prevails in the world of spirits against
the things relating to love and faith toward the Lord.

AC 44 - wise & foolish

AC 44
Man, like the earth, can produce nothing of good unless the knowledges of faith are first sown in him, whereby he may know what is to be believed and done. It is the office of the understanding to hear the Word, and of the will to do it. To hear the Word and not to do it, is like saying that we believe when we do not live according to our belief; in which case we separate hearing and doing, and thus have a divided mind, and become of those whom the Lord calls "foolish" in the following passage: --

Whosoever hears My words, and does them,
I will liken to a wise man who built his house upon a rock:
but every one that hears My words and does them not,
I liken to a foolish man, who built his house upon the sand.
(Matthew 7:24,26)