AC 6497 - Genesis 50, an Overview

AC 6497

After treating of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,
by whom in the supreme sense is represented the Lord,
this last chapter of Genesis
in the internal sense treats of the church --
that after the celestial church had perished,
a spiritual church was instituted by the Lord.
The beginning and progress of this church
are described in the internal sense,
and at the close of the chapter, its end;
and that in its stead
the mere representative of a church was instituted
among the descendants of Jacob.

 

Several Short Passages About the Lord's Loving Providence

AC 6485

. . . for many reasons
Providence acts silently and secretly;
and that if it acted openly,
a person could not possibly be reformed.

AC 6487

All the things which are from the Lord are most essential;
but they do not follow in order from necessity,
but in a manner
that is applicable to the freedom of a person.

AC 6489

. . . nothing is permitted
except for the end that some good may come out of it;
but as a person has freedom,
in order that he may be reformed,
he is bent from evil to good
so far as he suffers himself to be bent in freedom . . ..

AC 6494

. . . not even a hair falls from the head
without the will of God.

AC 6495

. . . the influx which is from the Lord
is the good of heavenly love,
thus of love toward the neighbor.
In this love the Lord is present,
for He loves the universal human race,
and desires to eternally save every member of it;
and as the good of this love is from Himself,
He Himself is in it;
thus He is present with the person
who is in the good of this love.

AC 6472 - The Lord Flows Into All, Yet Leaves Us in Freedom; AC 6476 - The Lord's Prayer

AC 6472 - The Lord Flows Into All, Yet Leaves Us in Freedom

. . . the Lord inflows in two ways:
through heaven mediately,
and from Himself immediately;
and that from Himself
He flows both into a person's rational things,
which are his interior things,
and into his natural things,
which are his exterior ones.
That which flows in from the Lord
is the good of love and the truth of faith,
for that which proceeds from the Lord
is the Divine truth in which is the Divine good;
but these are variously received with a person,
namely, in accordance with his quality.

The Lord does not compel a person
to receive what flows in from Himself;
but leads in freedom,
and so far as the person allows,
through freedom leads to good.
Thus the Lord leads a person according to his delights,
and also according to fallacies
and the principles received therefrom;
but gradually He leads him out from these;
and this appears to the person
as if it were from himself.
Thus the Lord does not break these things,
for this would be to do violence to freedom,
which however must needs exist,
in order that the person may be reformed.
That the Lord flows in with a person in this manner,
namely, not only mediately through heaven,
but also immediately from Himself,
both into the interior and the exterior things in the person,
is a secret hitherto unknown.

AC 6476 - The Lord's Prayer

Whenever I have been reading the Lord's prayer,
I have plainly perceived an elevation toward the Lord
which was like an attraction,
and at the same time my ideas were open,
and from this there was effected a communication
with some societies in heaven;
and I noticed that there was an influx from the Lord
into every detail of the prayer,
thus into every idea of my thought
that was from the meaning of the things in the prayer.
The influx was effected with inexpressible variety,
that is, not the same at one time as another;
so also it was made evident
how infinite are the things contained in the prayer,
and that the Lord is present in every one of them.
 

AC 6443 - Those Who Are Being Elevated Into Heaven

AC 6443

. . . those who are being elevated into heaven
are at first in obscurity;
for they cannot come to clearness
until they have been in heaven,
and have been instructed
with respect to truths
by the Lord through the angels,
into whose society they are sent;
for there is need of time
in order that the obscurity induced by falsities
may be dissipated.

** The Way of Holiness **

And a highway will be there;
it will be called the Way of Holiness.
The unclean will not journey on it;
it will be for those who walk in that Way;
wicked fools will not go about on it.
No lion will be there,
nor will any ferocious beast get up on it;
they will not be found there.
But only the redeemed will walk there,
and the ransomed of the Lord will return.
they will enter Zion with singing;
everlasting joy will crown their heads.
Gladness and joy will overtake them,
and sorrow and sighing will flee away.

(Isaiah 35:8-10)

AC 6439 - When

AC 6439

. . . when the Lord is present it shall be done . . ..

AC 6435 - Mountains and Hills

AC 6435 [15]

The reason why "mountains" and "hills" meant
the goods of celestial and spiritual love,
was that they were prominent above the earth,
and by things prominent and high
were meant those which were of heaven,
and in the supreme sense which were of the Lord.
For the "land of Canaan"
meant the Lord's heavenly kingdom;
as a consequence all things in that land were meaningful,
the "mountains" and "hills"
being meaningful of such things as are high;
for when the most ancient people
who were of the celestial church
ascended a mountain
they thought of height, and from height, of what is holy,
because Jehovah or the Lord
was said to dwell "in the highest,"
and because in the spiritual sense
"height" denoted the good of love.

AC 6427 - The Spiritual Kingdom

AC 6427 [1-2]

This kingdom consists of those
who are in the truth of faith,
but who make this the truth of life,
and thus good;
for when the truth of faith is lived,
it becomes good,
and is called the "good of truth,"
but in its essence
it is truth in act.

In the Lord's spiritual church
the truth of faith is various,
for what is said to be truth in one church
which in another is said not to be truth,
and this according to the doctrine of each;
thus it is doctrinal things that are called truths.
These truths are what are conjoined with good,
and make the good of the spiritual church;
and thus its good becomes such as is its truth,
for good has its quality from truths.

Consequently it is evident
that the good of the spiritual church is impure;
and because it is impure,
the spiritual cannot be admitted into heaven
except by Divine means.
The absolute Divine means was
that the Lord came into the world
and made the Human in Himself Divine;
by this the spiritual were saved.
But because the good with them is impure,
they must needs be infested by evils and falsities,
and thus be in combats;
but the Lord provides that by means of these combats
the impurity in them may gradually be purified,
for the Lord fights for them.

AC 6423 - The Strength of Truth

AC 6423

The strength of doctrine is truth,
for doctrine in which there is no truth is of no avail.
The reason why truth is strong,
is that good acts through truth;
for good is of such a nature
that nothing of evil or of falsity can approach it,
thus none of the infernal crew,
who flee far away when good approaches,
or an angel who is in good.
But in order that good may fight
with that crew which is with a person from hell,
and protect him in every way . . .
it acts through truth,
for in this way it can approach them.

AC 6408 - Heavenly Blessedness; AC 6410 - Heavenly Usefulness

AC 6408 - Heavenly Blessedness

. . . Asher was so called from "blessedness."
This blessedness cannot be easily described,
because it is internal,
and seldom shows itself with anyone in the very body,
thus seldom to the sense.
For during his life in the body,
a person has a distinct sensation
of what takes place in his body,
but a very obscure one of what takes place in his spirit,
because while a person is in the body
worldly cares act as a hindrance,
and where these cares exist
the blessedness of the affections
cannot flow so far as into the bodily sense
unless natural and sensuous things
have been reduced to agreement with inward ones,
and even then only obscurely,
as a tranquillity from contentment of mind;
but after departure from this life it manifests itself,
and is perceived as something blessed and happy,
and then it affects both the interiors and the exteriors.
In a word, the blessedness of the celestial affections
is that of the soul or spirit itself,
flowing in by an internal way,
and penetrating toward the body,
where it is received
so far as the delights of natural and sensuous loves
do not stand in the way.

AC 6410 - Heavenly Usefulness

The delight from good
and the pleasantness from truth
which cause blessedness in heaven,
do not consist in idleness,
but in activity;
for in idleness delight and pleasantness
become undelight and unpleasantness;
but in activity delight and pleasantness
are permanent and constantly uplift,
and cause blessedness.
With those who are in heaven,
activity consists in the performance of uses
(which to them is delight from good),
and in relishing truths with the end of uses
(which to them is pleasantness from truth).

AC 6406 - Works

AC 6406

Works are nothing but
good and truth themselves in outward form;
for good which is of the will,
and truth which is of the understanding,
when put forth into act,
are called "works;"
from this it is evident that
such as are the good and truth,
such are the works.
 

AC 6396 - The First Truth

AC 6396

For with the person who is being regenerated by the Lord
the case is this.
He is first in truth
and not in any good of life from truth;
next he is in the good of life from truth,
but not yet from good;
afterward, when he has been regenerated,
he is in the good of life from good,
and he then perceives truth from good,
and multiplies it in himself;
these are the degrees of regeneration.
By "Dan" are meant those
who are in the good of life from truth,
but not yet from good;
the good with them as yet lies deeply hidden in truth,
and gives them the affection of truth,
and impels them to live according to truth.
Those who are such are in the Lord's kingdom;
but as they do not do good from good,
but from truth,
that is, not from a new will,
but from the intellectual,
and thus not from love,
but from obedience
because it is so commanded,
those are therefore among those in the Lord's kingdom
who are in the first or ultimate heaven.

AC 6388 - Issachar

AC 6388

. . . in the original tongue "Issachar" means "hire."
That "Issachar" here means reward from works,
and previously mutual love,
is because by "Issachar" are here meant those
who are in a certain kind and appearance of mutual love,
that is, of charity toward the neighbor,
and who desire to be rewarded
for the goods which they do.
Thus they not only defile,
but also pervert genuine mutual love, or charity;
for those who are in genuine mutual love
are in their delight and bliss
when they are benefiting the neighbor,
for they desire nothing more.
This delight and bliss
are what is meant by "hire" in the Word;
for the delight and bliss is itself the reward;
and in the other life this becomes
the joy and happiness which are in heaven,
thus it becomes heaven to them.
For when those who are in this love perform uses,
and do good to others,
they are in such joy and happiness
that then for the first time
they seem to themselves to be in heaven;
this is given them by the Lord,
to everyone according to the uses he performs.
But the happiness vanishes
as soon as they think of reward,
for being in the reward itself,
thought about reward
renders that love impure, and perverts it;
the reason of which is
that they are then thinking about themselves,
and not about the neighbor,
that is, about making themselves happy,
and not others,
except insofar as it affects themselves.
Thus they convert love toward the neighbor
into love toward themselves,
and so far as they do this,
so far the joy and happiness from heaven
cannot be communicated to them,
for they concentrate upon themselves
the influx of happiness from heaven,
and do not transmit it to others;
and they are like objects
which do not transmit the rays of light,
but absorb them.
Objects which transmit the rays of light
appear in light, and sparkle,
but those which absorb them
appear opaque, and sparkle not at all;
and therefore those who are of this nature
are separated from angelic society,
like those who have nothing in common with heaven.
These are they who are here described
under the name of "Issachar."

AC 6386 - Three Definitions

AC 6386

Doctrinal things are those which are from the Word;

knowledges are those
which are from doctrinal things on the one side
and from memory-knowledges on the other;

and memory-knowledges are those
which belong to experience,
either one's own or that of others.

 

AC 6369 - Young and Old Lions; AC 6371 - The Coming of the Lord; AC 6373 - Shiloh, After Coming of the Lord

AC 6369 - Young and Old Lions

A "young lion" denotes
one who is in power through truth from good,
and an "old lion" one who is in power through good.
For those who are in celestial good never fight,
but are safe through good;
because where they come,
the evil flee away,
for the evil cannot endure their presence;
it is these who are meant by an "old lion."

AC 6371 - The Coming of the Lord

Before the coming of the Lord into the world,
there was influx of life with people and with spirits
from Jehovah or the Lord through the celestial kingdom,
that is, through the angels who were in that kingdom,
and from there they then had the sovereignty.
But when the Lord came into the world,
and thereby made the Human in Himself Divine,
He put on just that
which was with the angels of the celestial kingdom,
thus He put on this sovereignty.
For previously the Divine transflux through that heaven
had been the Divine Human;
it was also the Divine Man which was presented to view
when Jehovah so appeared;
but this Divine Human ceased
when the Lord Himself made the Human in Himself Divine.
This shows how the case is with this secret.
The angels of that kingdom have indeed
great sovereignty now,
but only insofar as they are in
the Lord's Divine Human through love to Him.

AC 6373 - Shiloh, the Coming of the Lord

Until Shiloh come.
(Genesis 49:10)

That this means the coming of the Lord,
and the tranquillity of peace then,
is evident from the meaning of "Shiloh,"
as being the Lord,
who is called "Shiloh" from the fact
that He pacified and made all things tranquil;
for in the original, "Shiloh"
is derived from a word which means tranquillity.
The reason why the Lord is here called "Shiloh"
is plain from what was said above
about the celestial kingdom and its sovereignty;
for when the Divine was presented to view
through that kingdom
there was in tranquillity,
because the things in heaven, and the things in hell,
could not thereby be reduced into order,
for the Divine which flowed through that kingdom
could not be pure,
because heaven is not pure;
thus neither was that kingdom so strong
that all things could by means of it
be kept in order;
and therefore also the infernal and diabolical spirits
were then raising themselves up from the hells
and were ruling over the souls
who were arriving from the world.
The result was that none could be saved but the celestial;
and at last scarcely they,
unless the Lord had taken on the Human
and had made this in Himself Divine;
whereby the Lord reduced all things into order,
first those in heaven,
and afterward those in the hells;
thus producing the tranquillity of peace.

AC 6351 - Spiritual Good and Spiritual Truth; AC 6353 - Heaven and the Wicked; AC 9355 - Truth

AC 6351 - Spiritual Good and Spiritual Truth

. . . spiritual good does not desire to know
the evils which are of their will;
. . . neither does the truth of spiritual good desire to know
the falsities of the thought derived from there.

AC 6353 [2] - Heaven and the Wicked

. . . heaven is denied by the Lord to no one,
but the life and the communication of life
(which is perceived in heaven
in the way an odor is on earth by its recipients)
render it impossible for the wicked to dwell there,
because they are tormented by the evil of their life
there more than in the deepest hell.

AC 6355

. . . truth is glory to those who are in spiritual good.

AC 6343 - Power and Strength

AC 6343

You are my strength.
(Genesis 49:3)

That this means power in good by means of faith,
is evident from the representation of Reuben,
who here is "you,"
as being faith in the understanding;
and from the signification of "strength,"
as being the power that is in good.
As regards power, namely,
the power of thinking and willing,
of perceiving,
of doing what is good,
of believing,
and of dissipating falsities and evils,
it is all from good through truth;
good is the principal,
and truth is only the instrumental.
That there is meant the power that is in good,
is because "strength" means this power,
whereas "forces" mean the power of truth . . ..

That the Word is holy, and in its interiors most holy,
is very evident from the fact
that in every detail of the Word
there is the heavenly marriage,
that is, the marriage of good and truth, thus heaven;
and that in every detail of the inmost sense
there is the marriage of the Lord's Divine Human
with His kingdom and church;
indeed, in the supreme sense
there is the union of
the Divine Itself and the Divine Human in the Lord.
These most holy things
are in every detail of the Word
a manifest proof
that the Word has descended from the Divine.
That this is so may be seen from the fact
that where mention is made of good,
mention is made of truth also;
and where the internal is spoken of,
the external also is spoken of.
There are also words which constantly mean good,
and words which constantly mean truth,
and words which mean both good and truth;
and if they do not mean them,
still they are predicated of them, or involve them.
From the predication and meaning of these words
it is plain that, as before said,
in every detail there is the marriage of good and truth,
that is, the heavenly marriage,
and in the inmost and supreme sense
the Divine marriage which is in the Lord,
thus the Lord Himself.

He who does not know
that the expressions in the Word
are significative of spiritual and celestial things,
and that some are said of good, and some of truth,
cannot but believe that such expressions
are mere repetitions, said merely to fill up,
and therefore in themselves useless;
and from this it is
that those who think wrongly about the Word,
regard such expressions as ground for contempt;
when yet the veriest Divine things are stored therein,
namely, the heavenly marriage,
which is heaven itself;
and the Divine marriage,
which is the Lord Himself.
This sense is the "glory" in which the Lord is,
and the literal sense is the "cloud" in which is this glory.

AC 6335, 6337 - The Twelve

AC 6335

As regards the setting in order
of the truths of faith and of the goods of love,
which is here meant,
and is presented in the internal sense in this chapter,
be it known that the twelve tribes of Israel
represented in general
all truths and goods in one complex,
thus all the truths and goods which proceed from the Lord,
and consequently those which are in heaven,
and of which heaven consists.
And because they are all represented in general,
they are also represented severally in particular;
for generals contain in them particulars,
as wholes contain parts.

AC 6337

. . . the truths and goods
which are represented by Jacob and his sons
are what constitute the church;
therefore by Jacob is represented the church;
and so also by his sons.
That the quality of the state is meant,
is because the representation
of the truths and goods of the church
is according to the order in which the sons of Jacob
or the tribes are mentioned in the Word.
One quality is signified when Reuben is mentioned first,
for when Reuben is mentioned first
the quality begins from faith;
but when Judah is mentioned first,
then the quality begins from love;
and it is different still
when some other one is mentioned first.
The quality is also varied
according to the order in which
the rest of the tribes are mentioned after these.
. . . From this it is then that the twelve tribes
have a different meaning
when mentioned in one order in the Word,
from what they have when mentioned in another;
thus they have a different meaning in this chapter
from what they have elsewhere.

 

AC 6328-6332 - In Short, the Meaning of Genesis 49

 AC 6328 - 6332

In this chapter the subject treated of in the internal sense
is not the descendants of Jacob,
and what would befall them;
but the truths of faith and the goods of love
which the twelve tribes named from the sons of Jacob
represent and signify.

It first treats of faith separated from charity,
which is utterly rejected.
This faith is "Reuben," "Simeon," and "Levi."

It then treats of the celestial church,
which is the "tribe of Judah,"
and in the supreme sense there,
of the Divine Human of the Lord.

Then of the rest of the tribes
according to the states of good and truth
which they represent.

Lastly of the celestial spiritual church which is "Joseph;"
and here also in the supreme sense
of the Divine Human of the Lord.

AC 6325 - A Recipient of the Lord's Life

AC 6325

. . . the person who is led by the Lord is in freedom itself,
and thus in delight and bliss itself;
goods and truths are appropriated to him;
there is given him an affection and desire
for doing what is good,
and then nothing is more delightful to him
than to perform uses.
There is given him a perception of good,
and also a sensation of it;
and there is given him intelligence and wisdom;
and all these as his own;
for he is then a recipient of the Lord's life.