Babylon Retreats - For A Bit

Now Jeremiah was free to come and go among the people,

for he had not yet been put in prison.

Pharoah's army had marched out of Egypt,

and when the Babylonians

who were besieging Jerusalem

heard the report about them,

they withdrew from Jerusalem.

Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet:

"This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says:

Tell the king of Judah,

who sent you to inquire of Me,

'Pharaoh's army, which has marched out to support you,

will go back to its own land, to Egypt.

Then the Babylonians will return and attack this city;

they will capture it and burn it down."

(Jeremiah 37:4-8)

AR 529 - The Ten Commandments Are Most Holy

AR 529

Then the temple of God was opened in heaven,

and the ark of His covenant was seen in His temple.

(Revelation 11:19)

This symbolizes the New Heaven,

in which the Lord is worshiped in His Divine humanity,

and where people live in accordance

with the Ten Commandments . . ..

. . . we must say something about the Ten Commandments.

What nation in the entire world does not know

that it is evil to kill, commit adultery, steal,

and bear false witness?

If nations did not know this

and enact laws to keep people from doing these things,

it would be all over with them.

For society, the republic, or kingdom

would collapse without these laws.

Who can suppose that

the Israelite nation was so stupid

in comparison to all other nations

as not to know that such actions are evil?

One may wonder, therefore, why these laws,

being so universally known throughout the world,

were promulgated by Jehovah Himself from Mount Sinai,

attended by the great miracle they were,

and written, moreover, with His finger.

But listen, these were promulgated by Jehovah

with such a great miracle and written with His finger

in order that people might know

that these laws are not only civil and moral laws,

but also spiritual laws,

and that to disobey them

is not only to do evil to one's fellow citizen and to society,

but is also to sin against God.

Their promulgation by Jehovah from Mount Sinai

made them therefore laws of religion.

For it is evident that

whatever Jehovah God commands,

He commands to make it a matter of religion,

so that it must be obeyed for His sake,

and for a person's own sake,

that he may be saved.

Because these laws were the first elements of the church

to be established by the Lord with the Israelite nation,

and because they embrace in brief summary

everything having to do with religion

which makes possible

a conjunction of the Lord with a person

and of a person with the Lord,

therefore they were so holy

that nothing was more holy.

The Lord's Covenant

"This is the covenant I will make

with the house of Israel after that time,"

declares the Lord.

"I will put My law in their minds

and write it on their hearts.

I will be their God,

and they will be my people.

No longer will a man teach his neighbor,

or a man his brother, saying,

'Know the Lord,'

because they will all know Me,

from the least of them to the greatest,"

declares the Lord.

(Jeremiah 31:33-34)

AR 527 - Why fear is part of love

AR 527

"And those who fear Your name, small and great."

(Revelation 11:18)

This symbolizes people who love things

having to do with the Lord,

in a lesser or greater degree.

To fear here means, symbolically, to love

because everyone who loves another

is afraid of injuring the one he loves.

There is no genuine love without that fear.

Accordingly, someone who loves the Lord

is afraid of doing evil,

because evils go counter to the Lord,

as they go counter to His Divine laws in the Word -

the Word that originates from the Lord

and thus embodies Him.

Indeed, they go counter to His Divine essence,

which is to will the salvation of all.

For He is a savior.

But He cannot save a person

unless the person lives in accordance with

the Lord's laws and commandments.

What is more,

someone who loves evils

also desires to injure the Lord,

indeed to crucify Him.

This desire is inmostly present in every evil,

even in people who acknowledge Him with the lips.

Message to Shemaiah

Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah:

"Send this message to all the exiles:

'This is what the Lord says about Shemaiah the Nehelamite:

Because Shemaiah has prophesied to you,

even though I did not send him,

and has led you to believe a lie,

this is what the Lord says:

I will surely punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite

and his descendants.

He will have no one left among this people,

nor will he see the good things I will do for My people,

declares the Lord,

because he has preached rebellion against me.'"

(Jeremiah 29:30-32)

AR 510 - our inner self

AR 510

But after the three and a half days

the breath of life from God entered them,

and they stood on their feet.

(Revelation 11:11)

Three and a half days means, symbolically,
at the end and then the beginning,
thus at the end of the church still existing
and the beginning of a new one,
here the beginning of the church in people
in whom the New Church commences and grows.

The breath of life from God symbolizes spiritual life,

and standing on their feet sybolizes

natural life in harmony with spiritual life,

and thus one made living by the Lord.

This is the symbolic meaning

because the breath of life refers to a person's inner being,

called his inner self,

which regarded in itself is spiritual.

For it is a person's spirit that thinks and wills,

and to think and will is, in itself, a spiritual activity.

[2]  Everyone who is reformed

is reformed first in respect to his inner self,

and afterward in respect to his outer self.

The inner self is reformed,

not by simply knowing and understanding

the truths and goods by which a person is saved,

but by willing and loving them,

and the outer self by saying and doing

what the inner self wills and loves.

To the extent that the outer self does this, then,

to the same extent the person is regenerated.

He is not regenerated prior to that

because before then

his inner self is not present in the effect,

but subsists only in the cause,

and unless a cause has an effect,

it dissipates.

It is like a house founded on a field of ice,

a house that sinks to the bottom

when the sun melts the ice.

In short, it is like a person without feet

on which to stand and walk.

The same is the case with the inner or spiritual self

unless it is founded on the outer or natural self.

False Prophets

"Am I only a God nearby," declares the Lord,

"and not a God far away?

Can anyone hide in secret places

so that I cannot see him?" declares the Lord.

"Do not I fill heaven and earth?" declares the Lord.

"I have heard what the prophets say

who prophesy lies in My name.

They say, 'I had a dream!  I had a dream!'

How long will this continue

in the hearts of these lying prophets,

who prophesy the delusions in their own minds?

"Therefore," declares the Lord,

"I am against the prophets

who steal from on another words supposedly from Me.

"Yes," declares the Lord,

"I am against the prophets

who wag their own tongues and yet declare,

'The Lord declares.'

(Jeremiah 23:23-26,30-31)

AR 504 - Sodom and Egypt

AR 504

Which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt.

(Revelation 11:8)

Sodom symbolizes, in the spiritual sense,

a love of ruling springing from a love of self . . .

and Egypt symbolizes, in the spiritual sense,

a love of holding sway

from a conceit in one's own intelligence . . ..

These two loves are present in the church

where there is not one God

and where the Lord is not worshiped,

and where people do not live

in accordance with the Ten Commandments . . ..

[3]  It should be known, however,

that a love of ruling springing

from a love of self

and a love of ruling springing

from a love of performing useful services

are two different things.

The latter love is a heavenly love,

while the first is a hellish one.

The Heart

The heart is deceitful above all things

and beyond cure.

Who can understand it?

"I the Lord search the heart

and examine the mind,

to reward a man according to his conduct,

according to what his deeds deserve."

(Jeremiah 17:9-10)

AR 493, 497 - to hear and do, or not

AR 493

There are the two olive trees

and the two lampstands

standing before the God of the earth. (Revelation 11:4)

An olive tree symbolizes love and charity . . ..

And a lampstand symbolizes enlightenment in truths . . ..

To stand before God means, symbolically,

to hear and do what He has commanded . . ..

AR 497

. . . people who turn away from

the two essential elements of the New Church

cannot see anything

but the falsities in which they are caught up,

and if they use the Word to defend them,

they falsify its truths.

(The two essentials are:

1 - An acknowledgment of the Lord and

2 - a life in accordance with the Ten Commandments.)

Repent

Therefore this is what the Lord says:

"If you repent,

I will restore you

that you may serve Me;

if you utter worthy, not worthless, words,

you will be My spokesman.

Let this people turn to you,

but you must not turn to them."

(Jeremiah 15:19)

AR 490 - two witnesses

AR 490

"And I will give power to My two witnesses."

(Revelation 11:3)

This symbolizes those people

who confess and acknowledge from the heart

that the Lord is God of heaven and earth,

whose humanity is Divine,

and who are conjoined with Him

by a life in accordance with the Ten Commandments.

[3]  We will say something here regarding

conjunction with the Lord

by a life in accordance with the Ten Commandments.

There are two tables

on which these commandments were written,

one for the Lord

and one for mankind.

The contents of the first table declare

that several gods are not to be worshiped,

but only one.

The contents of the second table declare

that evils are not to be done.

When one God is worshiped

and people do not do evils,

conjunction takes place.

For in the measure that a person desists from evils,

that is, in the measure that he repents,

he is in the same measure accepted by God

and does good from God.

God Made the Earth

But God made the earth by His power;

He founded the world by His wisdom

and stretched out the heavens by His understanding.

When He thunders, the waters in the heavens roar;

He makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth.

He sends lightning with the rain

and brings out the wind from His storehouses.

(Jeremiah 10:12-13)

AR 486 - the church; AR 489 - doctrinal truths

AR 486

These three elements are what form the church:

doctrinal truth,

goodness of love,

and a formal worship as a result of these.

[2]  It should be known

that the church exists in the heavens just as on earth,

and that the two are united

like the inner and outer selves in people.

Consequently the Lord provides the church in heaven first,

and from it, or by means of it,

then the church on earth.

That is why the New Jerusalem is said

to come down from God out of the New Heaven

(Revelation 21:1,2).

The New Heaven means

a new heaven formed from Christians,

as described several times in the following chapters.

AR 489

Doctrinal truths mean truths from the Word,

because that is the source of the church's doctrine

and every particular of it.

Sins Deprive of Good

"Announce this to the house of Jacob

and proclaim it in Judah:

Hear this, you foolish and senseless people,

who have eyes but do not see,

who have ears but do not hear:

Should you not fear me?" declares the Lord.

"Should you not tremble in My presence?

I made the sand a boundary for the sea,

an everlasting barrier it cannot cross.

The waves may roll, but they cannot prevail;

they may roar, but they cannot cross it.

But these people have stubborn and rebellious hearts;

they have turned aside and gone away.

They do not say to themselves,

'Let us fear the Lord our God,

who gives autumn and spring rains in season,

who assures us of the regular weeks of harvest.'

Your wrongdoings have kept these away;

your sins have deprived you of good."

(Jeremiah 5:20-25)

AR 484 - Divine grace

AR 484 [2] 

Is not Divine grace an attribute of the Divine essence?

To turn away from grace, then,

would be to turn away from His own Divine essence,

and to turn away from His Divine essence

would mean He was no longer God.

Can God be estranged from Himself?

Believe me, grace on the part of God -

as it is infinite, so is it eternal.

The grace of God can be lost on mankind's part

if people do not accept it,

but never on God's part.

If grace should depart from God,

it would be all over with the whole of heaven

and with the whole of the human race,

to the point that

people would no longer be in the least bit human.

Therefore grace on the part of God

continues to eternity,

not only toward angels and people,

but also toward the devil himself.

The Call of Jeremiah

The word of the Lord came to me, saying,

"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,

before you were born I set you apart;

I appointed you as a prophet to the nations."

"Ah, Sovereign Lord," I said,

"I do not know how to speak;

I am only a child."

But the Lord said to me,

"Do not say, 'I am only a child.'

You must go to everyone I send you to

and say whatever I command you.

Do not be afraid of them,

for I am with you and will rescue you,"

declares the Lord.

Then the Lord reached out His hand

and touched my mouth and said to me,

"Now, I have put My words in your mouth.

See, today I appoint you

over nations and kingdoms

to uproot and tear down,

to destroy and overthrow,

to build and to plant."

The word of the Lord came to me:

"What do you see, Jeremiah?"

"I see the branch of an almond tree,"

I replied.

The Lord said to me,

"You have seen correctly,

for I am watching to see that My word is fulfilled."

The word of the Lord came to me again:

"What do you see?"

"I see a boiling pot, 

tilting away from the north,"

I answered.

The Lord said to me,

"From the north disaster will be poured out

on all who live in the land.

I am about to summon

all the peoples of the northern kingdoms,"

declares the Lord.

(Jeremiah 1:1-15)

AR 483 - prophesy, peoples, nations, tongues, kings

AR 483

And he said to me,

"You must prophesy again about

peoples, nations, tongues, and many kings."(Revelation 10:11)

To prophesy means, symbolically, to teach,

and so to prophesy again means to teach further.

"Peoples" symbolize people who are impelled

by doctrinal truths or doctrinal falsities,

and "nations" symbolize people who are impelled

by good practices or evil practices.

More about these later.

"Tongues" symbolize people who are impelled

by truths and goods

or falsities and evils externally,

and "kings" people who are impelled

by them internally.

** impelled - driven, forced, urged

They Have Chosen Their Ways

This is what the Lord says:

"Heaven is My throne,

and the earth is My footstool.

Where is the house you will build for Me?

Where will My resting place be?

Has not My hand made all these things,

and so they came into being?"

declares the Lord.

"This is the one I esteem:

he who is humble and contrite in spirit,

and trembles at My Word.

But whoever sacrifices a bull

is like one who kills a man,

and whoever offers a lamb,

like one who breaks a dog's neck;

whoever makes a grain offering

is like one who presents pig's blood,

and whoever burns memorial incense,

like one who worships an idol.

They have chosen their own ways,

and their souls delight in their abominations;

so I also will choose harsh treatment for them

and will bring upon them what they dread.

For when I called,

no one answered,

when I spoke,

no one listened.

They did evil in My sight

and chose what displeases Me."

Hear the Word of the Lord,

you who tremble at His Word:

"Your brothers who hate you,

and exclude you because of My name,

have said,

'Let the Lord be glorified,

that we may see your joy!'

Yet they will be put to shame.

Hear that uproar from the city,

hear that noise from the temple!

It is the sound of the Lord

repaying all His enemies all they deserve."

(Isaiah 66:1-6)

AR 469 - the little book; AR 471 - roar like a lion

AR 469

He had in his hand a little book open.

(Revelation 10:2)

This symbolizes the Word

in respect to this point of doctrine there,

that the Lord is God of heaven and earth,

and that His humanity is Divine.

[2]  The little book is said to be open

because this point of doctrine

is plainly evident in the Word

and is apparent to anyone who reads it,

if he pays attention.

This is the subject now

because it is the essential doctrine of the New Church.

That is because everyone's salvation depends

on a conception and acknowledgment of God.

For the case is as stated in the Preface,

that "heaven in its entirety is founded

on a right idea of God, and so, too,

the entire church on earth, and all religion in general,"

inasmuch as that idea leads to conjunction,

and through conjunction

to light, wisdom, and eternal happiness."

AR 471

And cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roars.

(Revelation 10:3)

This symbolizes a grievous lamentation

that the church was taken from Him.

 . . . for a lion roars when it sees its enemies

and is attacked by them,

and when it sees its young or its prey carried off.

The same is comparatively the case with the Lord

when He sees His church carried off by devils.

[2]  That roaring symbolizes a grievous lamentation

is clear from the following passages:

. . . my bones grew old

through my roaring all the day long.

(Psalm 32:3)

I am feeble and worn;

I have roared because of the roaring of my heart.(Psalm 38:8)