AE 130 - Divine truth and faith

AE 130a [2, 10]

By Divine truth is meant at the same time Divine good,
because these proceed from the Lord united.

That nothing of faith is from man,
but all faith is from God,
is the same as saying
that nothing of truth that has life is from man,
but all truth is from God,
for truth is of faith
and faith is of truth.

If Anyone Sins and Is Unfaithful

The Lord said to Moses:
"If anyone sins and is unfaithful to the Lord
by deceiving his neighbor
about something entrusted to him
or left in his care or stolen,
or if he cheats him,
or if he finds lost property and lies about it,
or if he swears falsely,
or if he commits any such sin that people may do -
when he thus sins and becomes guilty,
he must return what he has stolen or taken by extortion,
or what was entrusted to him,
or the lost property he found,
or whatever it was he swore falsely about.
He must make restitution in full,
add a fifth of the value to it
and give it all to the owner
on the day he presents his guilt offering.
And as a penalty
he must bring to the priest,
that is, to the Lord,
his guilt offering, a ram from the flock
one without defect and of the proper value.
In this way the priest
will make atonement for him before the Lord,
and he will be forgiven
for any of of these things he did
that made him guilty."

(Leviticus 6:1-7)

AE 124 - ten

AE 124

And ye shall have affliction ten days,
(Revelation 2:10)
signifies that infestation and temptation therefrom
will last for some time.
This is evident from the signification of "affliction,"
as being infestation and temptation
of those who are in the spiritual affection of truth
by those who are in falsities;
also from the signification of "ten days,"
as being duration for some time.
Duration for some time is signified by "ten days,"
for the reason that
the entire duration of infestation and temptation
is signified by "forty days",
and "ten" means some part thereof;
for all numbers in the Word signify things or states,
with variety according to the relation to other numbers.
The number "ten,"
without reference to other numbers,
signifies what is full or much;
but in reference to a greater number,
it signifies as much as is needed for uses;
so here it signifies duration for some time,
thus as use demands.

Every Grain Offering

"'Every grain offering you bring to the Lord
must be made without yeast,
for you are not to burn any yeast or honey
in an offering made to the Lord by fire.
You may bring them to the Lord
as an offering of the firstfruits,
but they are not to be offered on the altar
as a pleasing aroma.
Season all your grain offerings with salt.
Do not leave the salt of the covenant of your God
out of your grain offerings;
add salt to all your offerings."

(Leviticus 2:11-13)

AE 118 - to be spiritually poor

AE 118

To be spiritually poor, and yet to be rich,
is to acknowledge in heart
that one has no knowledge 
nor understanding
nor wisdom from himself,
but that he knows, understands, and is wise
wholly from the Lord.

. . . because they know and acknowledge this,
and also wish and love it to be so,
Divine truth from which are all intelligence and wisdom
continually flows in from the Lord,
and this they receive in the measure in which
they are affected by it,
that is, love it.

[2]  The spiritual affection of truth
has no other source than the Lord,
because the Lord is Divine truth in heaven and in the church,
for Divine truth proceeds from Him.
And as the Lord loves to lead every one to Himself,
and to save him,
and this He can do
only by the knowledges of good and truth from the Word,
so the Lord loves to impart these to man,
and make them of his life,
for in this way and no other
can He lead man to Himself and save him.
From this it is clear
that all spiritual affection of truth is from the Lord,
and that no one can be in that affection
unless he acknowledges the Divine of the Lord in His Human,
for by such acknowledgment there is conjunction,
and according to conjunction there is reception.

[3]  In the Word, "the poor and needy"
are mentioned here and there,
also the "hungry and thirsty."
By "the poor and needy"
are signified those who believe
that of themselves they know nothing;
and also those who are destitute of knowledge
because they have not the Word;
and by the "hungry and thirsty"
are signified those who continually long for truths,
and long to be perfected by means of truths.

Moses and the Glory of the Lord

Moses said to the Lord,
"You have been telling me, 'Lead these people,'
but You have not let me know
whom You will send with me.
You have said, 'I know you by name
and you have found favor with Me.'
If You are pleased with me,
teach me Your ways
so I may know You
and continue to find favor with You.
Remember that this nation is Your people."

The Lord replied,
"My Presence will go with you,
and I will give you rest."

. . . "But, "He said, "you cannot see My face,
for no one may see Me and live."

Then the Lord said,
"there is a place near Me
where you may stand on a rock.
When My glory passes by,
I will put you in a cleft in the rock
and cover you with My hand
until I have passed by.
Then I will remove My hand
and you will see My back;
but My face must not be seen."

(Exodus 33:12-14, 20-23)

AE 112 - the way to heaven

AE 112 [3]

. . . without the knowledges
of truth and good from the Word
no one can know anything of the Lord,
of the angelic heaven,
or of charity and faith
and that which a man does not know
he cannot think,
thus cannot will,
and accordingly cannot believe and love.
It is evident, therefore,
that by means of knowledges
man learns the way to heaven.

Moses Comes Down Mount Sinai

Moses turned and went down the mountain
with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hands.
They were inscribed on both sides, front and back.
The tablets were the work of God;
the writing was the writing of God,
engraved on the tablets.

When Joshua heard the noise of the people shouting,
he said to Moses,
"There is the sound of war in the camp."

Moses replied:
"It is not the sound of victory,
it is not the sound of defeat;
it is the sound of singing that I hear."

When Moses approached the camp
and saw the calf and the dancing,
his anger burned
and he threw the tablets out of his hands,
breaking them to pieces at the foot of the mountain.
And he took the calf they had made
and burned it in the fire;
then he ground it to power,
scattered it on the water
and made the Israelites drink it.

(Exodus 32:15-20)

AE 109 - "to overcome"; AE 110 - to love God

AE 109
"To overcome" is to receive in the heart,
because every one who is to receive spiritual life
must fight against evils and falsities
which belong to his natural life;
and when he overcomes these
he receives in the heart
the goods and truths which belong to the spiritual life.

AE 110 [3]
To love God and to believe in Him
involve all things that the church teaches,
called doctrinals and knowledges,
since from these
God is loved and believed in.

Moses Goes Up Mount Sinai

When Moses went and told the people
all the Lord's words and laws,
they responded with one voice,
"Everything the Lord has said we will do."
Moses then wrote down everything the Lord had said.

He got up early the next morning
and built an altar at the foot of the mountain
and set up twelve stone pillars
representing the twelve tribes of Israel.
Then he sent young Israelite men,
and they offered burnt offerings
and sacrificed young bulls
as fellowship offerings to the Lord.
Moses took half of the blood and put it in bowls,
and the other half he sprinkled on the altar.
Then he took the Book of the Covenant
and read it to the people.
They responded,
"We will do everything the Lord has said;
we will obey."

Moses then took the blood,
sprinkled it on the people and said,
"This is the blood of the covenant
that the Lord has made with you
in accordance with all these words."

Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu,
and the seventy elders of Israel
went up and saw the God of Israel.
Under His feet was something
like a pavement made of sapphire,
clear as the sky itself.
But God did not raise His hand
against these leaders of the Israelites;
they saw God,
and they ate and drank.

The Lord said to Moses,
"Come up to Me on the maintain and stay here,
and I will give you the tablets of stone,
with the law and commands
I have written for their instruction."

Then Moses set out with Joshua his aide,
and Moses went up on the mountain of God.
He said to the elders,
"Wait here for us until we come back to you.
Aaron and Hur are with you,
and anyone involved in a dispute can go to them."

When Moses went up on the mountain,
the cloud covered it,
and the glory of the Lord settled on Mount Sinai.
For six days the cloud covered the mountain,
and on the seventh day
the Lord called to Moses from within the cloud.
To the Israelites
the glory of the Lord
looked like a consuming fire on top of the mountain.
Then Moses entered the cloud
as he went up the mountain.
And he stayed on the mountain
forty days and forty nights.

(Exodus 24:4-18)

AE 105 - memory, knowledges, living

AE 105

. . . memory is given to man to be a receptacle,
from which may be taken what will be serviceable to the life;
and things are serviceable to the life
when a man wills them and does them.

. . . still knowledges are necessary,
for without them
man can know nothing of spiritual life,
and he who knows nothing of spiritual life
cannot become spiritual;
for that which a man knows
he can think,
can will,
can can do,
but not that which he does not know.

To live according to the knowledges of truth and good
is to think that one must do thus
and not otherwise
because it is commanded by the Lord in the Word.
When man thus thinks,
and thus wills and does,
he becomes spiritual.
Yet it is necessary for those within the church
to believe in the Lord,
and when they think of Him
to think of His Divine in the Human,
since from His Divine Human
everything of charity and faith proceed.

Mount Sinai

In the third month after the Israelites left Egypt -
on the very day -
they came to the Desert of Sinai.
After they set out from Rephidim,
they entered the Desert of Sinai,
and Israel camped there in the desert
in front of the mountain.

Then Moses went up to God . . . .

And the Lord said to Moses,
"Go to the people
and consecrate them today and tomorrow.
Have them wash their clothes
and be ready by the third day,
because on that day
the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai
in the sight of all the people.
Put limits for the people around the mountain
and tell them,
'Be careful that you do not go up the mountain
or touch the foot of it.
Whoever touches the mountain
shall surely be put to death.
He shall surely be stoned or shot with arrows;
not a hand is to be laid on him.
Whether man or animal,
he shall not be permitted to live.'
Only when the ram's horn sounds a long blast
may they go up to the mountain."

(Exodus 19:1-3,10-13)

AE 98 - "works", "toil", "endurance"

AE 98

. . . all things done by man
flow out from the interiors belonging to his mind,
also that the mind is the all in everything that man does,
and that the body is a mere obedience
through which is exhibited, 
in a form visible before the eye,
that which the mind wills and thinks.
This is why those external things here mentioned,
"works," "toil," and "endurance,"
signify willing, thinking, and consequent doing,
or what is the same,
loving, believing, and consequent presenting in act.  

[3]
. . . deeds are the will in act.
. . . for a person wills what he loves,
and he loves what he wills.

[5]  
"Toil," in the spiritual sense,
 means all things that man thinks,
because spiritual toiling is thinking.
And "endurance" signifies all things that man does,
because "to endure" here means to be assiduous,
and to put away the obstructions in the natural man
that are continually rising up and hindering.

Pharaoh Pursues the Children of Israel

When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled,
Pharaoh and his officials changed their minds about them
and said, "What have we done?
We have let the Israelites go and have lost their services!"
So he had his chariot made ready
and took his army with him.
He took six hundred of the best chariots,
along with all the other chariots of Egypt,
with officers over all of them.
The Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt,
so that he pursued the Israelites,
who were marching out boldly.
The Egyptians -
all Pharaoh's horses and chariots, horsemen and troops -
pursued the Israelites and overtook them
as they camped by the sea near Pi Hahiroth,
opposite Baal Zephron.

As Pharaoh approached,
the Israelites looked up,
and there were the Egyptians, marching after them.
They were terrified and cried out the the Lord.
They said to Moses,
"Was it because there were no graves in Egypt
that you brought us to the desert to die?
What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt?
Didn't we say to you in Egypt,
'Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians'?
It would have been better for us
to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!"

Moses answered the people,
"Do not be afraid.
Stand firm and you will see
the deliverance the Lord will bring you today.
The Egyptians you see today
you will never see again.
The Lord will fight for you;
you need only to be still."

Then the angel of God,
who had been traveling in front of Israel's army,
withdrew and went behind them.
The pillar of cloud also moved from in front
and stood behind them,
coming between the armies of Egypt and Israel.
Throughout the night
the cloud brought darkness to one side
and light to the other side;
so neither went near the other all night long.

Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea,
and that night the Lord drove the sea back
with a strong east wind and turned into dry land.
The waters were divided,
and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground,
with a wall of water on their right and on their left.

(Exodus 14:5-14,19-22)

AE 92 - seven churches and seven angels

AE 92

. . . by the "seven churches"
all who are in truths from good,
and by the "seven angels"
all in heaven that correspond to them;
and since heaven and the church make one
by correspondence,
it is said in what follows,
"To the angel of the church, write,"
and not, Write to the church.
It is so said for this reason also,
that there must be correspondence
in order that the church may be a church with man;
if there were no correspondence,
there would be no communication of heaven,
 thus no heaven, with man;
and if heaven were not with him
neither would the church be with him.

The Lord vs. Pharoah

Then the Lord said to Moses,
"Go to Pharaoh,
for I have hardened his heart
and the hearts of his officials
that I may perform
these miraculous signs of Mine among them
that you may tell your children and grandchildren
how I dealt harshly with the Egyptians
and how I performed My signs among them,
and that you may know
that I am the Lord."

So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh
and said to him,
"This is what the Lord,
the God of the Hebrews, says:
'How long will you refuse to humble yourself before Me?
Let My people go,
so that they may worship Me.'"

(Exodus 10:1-3)

AE 80, 82 - the Lord's presence

AE 80, 82

The Lord is present, indeed, with all in the universe,
but more nearly or remotely
according to the reception
of good by means of truths 
with them from Him.
For good is that in which the Lord is present
with angel, spirit, and man;
therefore the extent and quality 
of good from the Lord with them
are what determine
the extent and quality of His presence . . ..

It is believed in the world
that man has life implanted in him,
and that it does not therefore flow in unceasingly
from Him who alone has life in Himself,
and who thus alone is Life.
But this belief is a belief in what is false.

Moses Comes to Horeb, the Mountain of God

Now Mosses was tending the flock of Jethro
his father-in-law, the priest of Midian,
and he led the flock to the far side of the desert
and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.
There the angel of the Lord
appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush.
Moses saw
that though the bush was on fire
it did not burn up.
So Moses thought,
"I will go over and see this strange sight -
why the bush does not burn up."

When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look,
God called to him from within the bush,
"Moses!  Moses!"

And Moses aid, "Here I am."

"Do not come any closer," God said.
"Take off your sandals,
for the place where you re standing is holy ground."
Then He said,
"I am the God of your father,
the God of Abraham,
the God of Isaac
and the God of Jacob."
At this, Moses hid his face,
because he was afraid to look at God.

(Exodus 3:1-6)

AE 72 - stars; AE 78 - self-life

AE 72 [2]
That "stars" signify the knowledges of good and truth,
thus goods and truths,
is from the appearance in the spiritual world;
for there the Lord appears as a sun,
and angels from afar off as stars.
Angels appear thus
from their reception of light from the Lord as a sun,
thus from their reception of Divine truth,
which is from the Lord,
for this is the light of heaven.

AE 78
. . . man's self-life is that into which he is born,
which is in itself nothing but evil,
for it is altogether inverted,
for it has regard to itself and the world only,
and therefore
turns itself back away from God and from heaven.
The life that is not man's self-life
is that into which he is led
when he is being regenerated by the Lord;
and when he comes into that life
he regards God and heaven in the first place,
and self and the world in the second.

Joseph

Joseph stayed in Egypt,
along with all his father's family.
He lived a hundred and ten years
and saw the third generation of Ephraim's children.
Also the children of Makir son of Manasseh
were placed at birth on Joseph's knees.

(Genesis 50:22-23)