Sunday, September 02, 2007

AC 3773 - on these two commandments

AC 3773
... all doctrine is founded on the two commandments -
that the Lord is to be loved above all things,
and the neighbor as themselves.
When these two commandments are regarded as the end,
the Word is opened;
for all the Law and the Prophets,
that is,
the whole Word,
so depend on these commandments
that all things are derived from them
and therefore all have reference to them.
And whereas the people of the church
are then in the principles of truth and good,
they are enlightened in everything they see in the Word;
for the Lord is then present with them by means of angels,
and teaches them (although they are unaware of this),
and also leads them into the life of truth and good.

AC 3768 - good

AC 3768 [2]
... good is the neighbor
because the Lord is in good,
and therefore
in the love of good
the Lord is loved.

Saturday, September 01, 2007

AC 3762 - the truths of love

AC 3762
Those truths are called the truths of love which have been elsewhere termed celestial truths, for they are knowledges that relate to charity toward the neighbor and love to the Lord; in the supreme sense, in which the Lord is treated of, they are the truths of Divine love.

[2] These truths, that relate to charity toward the neighbor and to love to the Lord, must be learned before it is possible for a person to be regenerated; and must also be acknowledged and believed; and in so far as they are acknowledged, believed, and ingrafted in the life, so far the person is regenerated....

Friday, August 31, 2007

AC 3742 - the Lord's life

AC 3742
... there is one only life, which is from the Lord alone...
The appropriation of the Lord's life comes from
His love and mercy toward the universal human race,
in that He wills to give Himself to every one,
and all that is His,
and in that He actually does give them in so far as they receive,
that is to say,
in so far as they are in the life of good and in the life of truth,
as being likenesses and images of Him.
... such a Divine endeavor is continually proceeding from the Lord...

A short example is given at the end of 3743.
The whole of 3743 is in today's comments in the blog.

... like the light of the sun, which although single and white,
is yet varied as it passes through or flows into various forms,
and thereby produces beautiful and pleasing colors,
as well as those which are not beautiful and not pleasing.

Thursday, August 30, 2007

AC 3732 - "to vow a vow"

AC 3732
In the internal sense "to vow a vow" signifies
to will that the Lord shall provide,
is from the fact that in vows there is a the desire and affection
that what is willed may come to pass;
thus that the Lord shall provide.
There is also implied somewhat of a stipulation,
and at the same time somewhat of an obligation
on the part of a person,
which he takes upon himself
if he comes to possess the object of his wish...

Wednesday, August 29, 2007

AC 3718 - there are two kinds of fear

AC 3718
Speaking generally, "fear" is of two kinds -
fear in what is not sacred,
and fear in what is sacred;
fear in what is not sacred is the fear in which are the wicked;
but fear in what is sacred is the fear in which are the good.
This latter fear is called reverential or sacred fear,
and is the result of our wonder at and longing for what is Divine,
and also of our love.
... The fear of love is a fear of injuring the Lord in any way,
or of injuring the neighbor in any way,
thus of injuring what is good and true in any way,
and consequently of injuring the sacred things
of love and faith and the consequent worship.

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

AC 3709 - What are the truths of the good of doctrine?

AC 3709
Truths of the good of doctrine are the doctrinal things
of love to the Lord and of charity toward the neighbor,
which are said to be conjoined with good
in the natural man
when to know them for the sake of doing them
is a pleasure and a delight.

Monday, August 27, 2007

AC 3704 - "Father" and "Son"

AC 3704 [2]
... in the internal sense "Father" signifies good;
and in the supreme sense, the Lord as to Divine good...
that "Son" signifies truth,
and the "Son of God," and the "Son of man," as to Divine truth....
And the same is evident from all those passages
where the Lord makes mention of His "Father,"
and calls Himself the "Son."

Sunday, August 26, 2007

AC 3703 - good is the source, and truth is the action

AC 3703
... good is that from which all things are in both general and particular,
and truth is that through which they all come into manifestation...
(Green cover edition, translated by Potts)

...good is the source of every single thing that has being
and truth the means by which it is brought into being.
(Elliott translation)

manifestation - display or demonstration
(Merriam-Webster Dictionary)

Saturday, August 25, 2007

AC 3700 - a ladder

AC 3700
And behold a ladder set on the earth. (Genesis 28:12)
In the original tongue the term "ladder" is derived from an expression which signifies a "path" or "way,"
.... which shows ... the communication of truth which is in the lowest place with truth which is in the highest.

Friday, August 24, 2007

AC 3696 - "laying down" and "sleeping" signify tranquillity

AC 3696
With those who are to be regenerated...
the case is that first of all they are in a state of tranquillity,
or in a state of external peace
(for external peace, or peace in externals, is called "tranquillity")
and the same is produced from the Divine state of peace
that is inmostly within it;
and it comes forth into the externals through the removal
of cupidities (evil desires) and falsities (false ideas);
for these are what cause all unrest.

[2]
... a state of peace in spiritual things
is like spring and dawn in natural things...
and that peace is from good and truth,
and unrest from what is evil and false....

In peace I will both lay me down and sleep;
for You Jehovah alone makes me to dwell in confidence.
(Psalm 4:8)

He will make me to lie down in green pastures;
He will lead me to the waters of rest;
He will restore my soul.

(Psalm 23:2,3)

Thursday, August 23, 2007

AC 3680 - knowledges of good & knowledges of truth

AC 3680
... all truths are knowledges of good;
and truths which are not from good,
or which do not look to good as the end,
are not truths;
but in so far as they look to doctrine,
they are called the knowledges of truth.

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

AC 3676 - Are knowledges truths?

AC 3676
...knowledges are not truths in themselves,
but from the Divine things within them;
and when these Divine things shine forth,
the knowledges for the first time become truths.

Tuesday, August 21, 2007

AC 3660 - more on why the Word was written the way it was

AC 3660 [2]
... there are goods and truths of the natural
in which the goods and truths of the rational can be,
and that there are goods and truths of the natural
in which the goods and truths of the rational cannot be;
consequently, that there are goods and truths
of the natural which can be adjoined
to the goods and truths of the rational by correspondence.

[3] To know these goods and truths,
and to distinguish them from one another,
and also to view their qualities,
and thus how they are adapted for conjunction,
does not appear clear to a person
so long as he does not think from what is interior,
or from enlightenment by the light of heaven;
for in this case such things appear to him
to be both obscure and undelightful.
But nevertheless they are suited to the
apprehension and understanding of angels,
and even to the apprehension of spirits;
for the thoughts of angels and spirits are not distracted by
cares for worldly, corporeal, and earthly things,
as they had formerly been when they lived as people in the world.
Angels and spirits are in the pleasantness of intelligence
and the bliss of wisdom when such things are present with them
from the internal sense of the Word;
for then what is Divine shines upon them,
because in the supreme sense the Lord is treated of,
and in the representative sense the church and regeneration;
and thereby they are in the Lord's Divine sphere,
and in that of His ends and uses.

Monday, August 20, 2007

AC 3652 - Why was the Word written the way it was?

AC 3652 [5]
... each and all of the things recorded in the Word
concerning the Jewish and Israelitish people
are representative of the Lord's kingdom in the heavens,
and of His kingdom on earth....
But these matters were of such a nature as to be capable of representing
the celestial and spiritual things of the Lord's kingdom,
and the events that took place for the sake of the representation.
In this way the Word could be so written
as to be adapted to the understanding of the person who should read it,
and also to the understanding of the angels who are with the person.
This likewise was the reason why the Lord spoke in the same manner;
for had He spoken otherwise,
His Word would not have been adapted to the understanding
of those who read it, especially at that time;
nor to the understanding of the angels,
thus it would neither have been received by man,
nor understood by the angels.

Sunday, August 19, 2007

AC 3634 - a person who is in correspondence

AC 3634
A person who is in correspondence, that is,
who is in love to the Lord and in charity toward the neighbor,
and thence in faith,
is as to his spirit in heaven,
and as to his body in the world;
and because he thus acts as one with the angels,
he is also an image of heaven....

Saturday, August 18, 2007

AC 3605 - Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

AC 3605 [2]
... concerning the words in the Lord's prayer,
"Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil;"
in that temptation and evil are rejected
until what is purely angelic, that is, good, remains
without any idea of temptation and of evil,
and this with the added idea of indignation and aversion,
in regard to evil being thought of when the Lord is thought of.

Friday, August 17, 2007

AC 3599 - where there is good

AC 3599
... where there is good
there must be truth
in order for there to be anything...

Thursday, August 16, 2007

AC 3589 - affection which desires and delights

AC 3589
... the signification of 'dainties,'
as being the delightful things which are of good
and the pleasant things which are of truth,
the delightful things which are of good are the desirable things,
and the pleasant things which are of truth are the delightful things;
for the affection of good is that which desires,
and then the affection of truth is that which delights.

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

AC 3577 - manna, dew, & morning

AC 3577 [4]
As the manna was heavenly bread,
in the supreme sense it signified the Lord as to Divine good;
and with people the celestial of love,
for this is from the Divine of the Lord;
the "dew" in which and with which the manna descended,
in the supreme sense denotes the Divine truth;
and in the relative sense, the spiritual truth with people;
"morning" is the state of peace in which these goods are.