AC 3391 - "Look out through a window"

AC 3391

. . . to "look out through a window"
is to perceive those things
which appear by means of the internal sight,
which in general are knowledges
such as are of the external person.
Rational things, or what is the same,
appearances of truth, that is, truths spiritual,
are not knowledges,
but are in knowledges,
for they belong to the rational,
thus to the internal person,
and it is the internal person
which looks to the things of the external person,
thus to truths in knowledges.
For as knowledges are of the natural person,
they are vessels that receive rational things . . ..

~ For I Am God ~

For I am God, and not man --
the Holy One among you.
I will not come in wrath.
They will follow the Lord;
He will roar like a lion.
When He roars,
His children will come trembling from the west.
They will come trembling like birds from Egypt,
like doves from Assyria.
I will settle them in their homes," declares the Lord.

. . . the Lord God Almighty,
the Lord is His name of renown!
But you must return to your God;
maintain love and justice,
and wait for your God always.

(Hosea 11:9.5-11; 12:5-6)

AC 3384. 3387 - Rational Things Enlightened

AC 3384

. . . the rational things
which when enlightened by the Divine of the Lord
are appearances of truth.

AC 3387 [1-2, 3]

. . . if Divine truths themselves were to be opened,
they would not be received by those
who are in the doctrinal things of faith,
because they surpass all their rational apprehension,
thus all their belief,
and consequently nothing of good from the Lord
could flow in.
For good from the Lord, or Divine good,
can inflow solely into truths,
because truths are the vessels of good,
as often shown.

Truths or appearances of truth are given a person
to the intent that Divine good may be able
to form his understanding,
and thus the person himself.
For truths exist to the end
that good may flow in;
for without vessels or receptacles
good finds no place,
because it finds no state corresponding to itself;
and therefore where there are no truths,
or where they are not received,
there is no rational or human good,
consequently the person has no spiritual life.
In order therefore
that a person may nevertheless have truths,
and thereby have spiritual life,
appearances of truth are given to everyone
according to his apprehension;
which appearances are acknowledged as truths,
because they are such
that Divine things can be in them.

(An example:)
. . . whatever is said in the Word
concerning places and spaces,
and from them and by means of them,
is an appearance of truth;
and unless it were said by means of such appearances,
it would not be received at all,
consequently would be scarcely anything;
for so long as he is in the world,
that is, in space and time,
the idea of space and of time
is within almost everything of a person's thought,
both in general and in particular.

AC 3382 - "My Charge, My Commandments, My Statutes, and My Laws"

AC 3382  [1-2]

And kept My charge, My commandments,
My statutes, and My laws.
(Genesis 26:5)

That this means
by means of continuous revelations from Himself --
that is to say, as by means of temptations,
so also by means of these revelations
the Lord united the Divine Essence to the Human --
is evident from the fact that these words,
"keeping His charge, commandments,
statutes, and laws,"
involve all things of the Word,
namely, "charge," all things of the Word in general;
"commandments," the internal things;
"statutes," the external things;
and "laws," all things specifically.
Inasmuch as this is predicated of the Lord,
who from eternity was the Word,
and from whom all these things are,
in the internal sense
it cannot be meant
that He observed these things,
but that He revealed them to Himself
when He was in a state of unition
of the Human with the Divine.

These things do indeed appear at first view
rather remote from the sense of the letter,
and even from the proximate internal sense;
but still when the words are read by a person,
this is their sense in heaven;
for, as occasionally before said,
and as may be seen from examples given,
in its ascent toward heaven
the sense of the letter is put off;
and instead of it
another heavenly sense comes into view,
so different that it cannot be known
to be from the same source.
For those who are in heaven
are in the idea that in the internal sense
all things of the Word treat of the Lord;
and also that all things of the Word are from the Lord;
likewise that when He was in the world
the Lord thought from the Divine
and thus from Himself,
and acquired for Himself all intelligence and wisdom
through continuous revelations from the Divine;
and therefore from the above words
they perceive nothing else.
For "keeping the charge, commandments,
statutes, and laws" is not predicable of the Lord,
because He Himself was the Word,
consequently He Himself was the charge,
He Himself was the commandment,
He Himself the statute,
and He Himself the law;
for all these things have respect to Him
as the First from whom they are derived,
and as the Last to whom they tend.
Therefore in the supreme sense by the above words
nothing else can be meant
than the unition of the Lord's Divine with the Human,
through continuous revelations from Himself.

~ Come, Let Us Return to the Lord ~

"Come, let us return to the Lord.
He has torn us to pieces but He will heal us;
He has injured us but He will bind up our wounds.
After two days He will revive us;
on the third day He will restore us,
that we may live in His presence.
Let us acknowledge the Lord;
let us press on to acknowledge Him.
As surely as the sun rises,
He will appear;
He will come to us like the winter rains,
like the spring rains that water the earth."

(Hosea 6:1-3)

AC 3367, 3376 - Thought From the Divine

AC  3367

And Jehovah appeared unto him, and said.
(Genesis 26:2)

That this means thought from the Divine,
is evident from the meaning of "appearing,"
when said of the Lord, who is Jehovah,
as being the Divine Itself that was in Him.
That Jehovah was in the Lord,
and that the Lord Himself is Jehovah,
has been shown above in many places;
and that insofar as the Lord had united
the Human essence to the Divine,
so far He spoke with Jehovah as with Himself;
thus "Jehovah appearing to him,"
in the internal sense means from the Divine;
that thought is meant is evident from
the meaning of "saying,"
as being to perceive and also to think;
as has been frequently shown.

AC 3376

. . . there was thought from the Divine
not to go down to memory-knowledges,
but to rational things
which
when enlightened by the Divine
are appearances of truth,
and that from these would come
instruction from the Divine, and increase,
thus good and truth,
which are spiritual,
whereby there is conjunction
of the Lord with the things in His Word.
These things which before a person
appear thus scattered,
are yet in the internal sense conjoined together
in the most orderly manner,
and before the angels, or in heaven,
appear and are perceived
in a most beautiful series and connection;
indeed, are attended with angelic representatives
in a heavenly form;
and this with inexpressible variety.
Such is the Word throughout in its internal sense.

AC 3362 - Divine Truth and Appearance of Truth

AC 3362

Divine truths are such
that they cannot possibly be grasped by any angel,
still less by any person.
They go far beyond
the whole range of their understanding.
Yet so that the Lord may be joined
to angels and people
Divine truths flow in,
with both angels and people,
within appearances;
and when those appearances
have Divine truths within them,
then these Divine truths
can be received and acknowledged.
And this is done in such a way as is adequate
for everyone to grasp them.

AC 3365

. . . Divine truths from the Lord
present themselves before the rational
by means of appearances.
This is why matters of doctrine
are no more than the appearances of Divine truth,
that is, no more than celestial and spiritual vessels
that hold what is Divine within them.
And because they hold the Divine,
that is, the Lord,
within them,
they therefore stir a person's affection,
and thereby the Lord is joined
to angels and to people.

AC 3344 - Life From the Lord

AC 3344

In itself
whatever is from the Lord
is alive.

~ The One Who Looked Like a Man ~

On the twenty-fourth day of the first month,
as I was standing on the bank of the great river, Tigris,
I looked up and there before me was a man
dressed in linen,
with a belt of the finest gold around his waist.
His body was like chrysolite,
his face like lightning,
his eyes like flaming torches,
his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze,
and his voice like the sound of a multitude.

. . . the one who looked like a man
touched me and gave me strength.
"Do not be afraid, O man highly esteemed," he said.
"Peace!
Be strong now; be strong."

(Daniel 10:4-6, 18-19)

AC 3332 - When the Spiritual Person Is Being Regenerated

AC 3332 [2-3]

. . . he first learns the doctrinal things of truth,
next is affected by them
(which is the good of the doctrinal things),
then that by taking a mental view
of these doctrinal things
he is affected with the truths in them
(which is the good of truth),
and lastly that he wills to live according to them,
which is the good of life.
In this way the spiritual person
when being regenerated
advances from the doctrine of truth to the good of life.
But when he is in the good of life
the order is inverted,
and from this good
he looks to the good of truth,
from this to the good of doctrinal things,
and from this to the doctrinal things of truth.
From this it may be known how a person
from being a sensuous person becomes spiritual,
and of what quality he is when he becomes spiritual.

That these goods, namely,
the good of life,
the good of truth,
and the good of doctrinal things,
are distinct from each other
can be seen by those who carefully consider the matter.
The good of life
is that which flows from the will;
the good of truth
is that which flows from the understanding;
and the good of doctrinal things
is that which flows from memory-knowledge.
The good which is doctrinal
has these other goods within it.

~ One of Daniel's Visions ~

"In my vision at night I looked,
and there before me was one like a son of man,
coming with the clouds of heaven.
He approached the Ancient of Days
and was led into His presence.
He was given authority, glory and sovereign power;
all peoples, nations and men of every language
worshiped Him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion
that will not pass away,
and His kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.

(Daniel 7:13-14)

AC 3330 - The Spiritual Person In the Beginning

AC 3330

That in the spiritual person in the beginning
truth has the dominion,
is chiefly because in his first state
there are delights of the love of self
and of the world
which he believes to be good,
and which apply themselves to his truths,
and for the most part
produce the affection of truth in him;
for he then thinks that truths
may be serviceable to him
either for honor, or for gain,
or for reputation in the world,
or even for merit in the other life.
All these things excite
this affection of truth in him,
and also enkindle it;
and yet they are not good, but evil.
Nevertheless the Lord permits
that such things should influence him
in that first time,
because otherwise he could not be regenerated.
Intelligence and wisdom come in time;
in the meanwhile
through these truths
the person is introduced into good,
that is, into charity;
and when he is in this,
then for the first time he perceives what is good,
and acts from good,
and then judges and draws conclusions
from this good concerning truths;
and those which do not accord with this good
he calls false, and rejects.
Thus he rules over truths
as a master over his servants.

~ King Darius Honors the God of Daniel ~

Then King Darius wrote to all the peoples,
nations and men of every language
throughout the land:

"May you prosper greatly!

"I issue a decree that in every part of my kingdom
people must fear and reverence the God of Daniel.

"For He is the living God
and He endures forever;
His kingdom will not be destroyed,
His dominion will never end.
He rescues and He saves;
He performs signs and wonders
in the heavens and on the earth.
He has rescued Daniel
from the power of the lions."

(Daniel 6:25-27)

AC 3318 - "And He Was Weary"

 

AC 3318

And he was weary.
(Genesis 25:29)

That this means a state of combat,
is evident from the meaning of "weary," or "weariness,"
as being the state after combat;
here, a state of combat,
because the subject
is the conjunction of good with truth
in the natural person.

A person is nothing but an organ, or vessel,
which receives life from the Lord;
for a person does not live from himself.
The life which inflows with a person from the Lord
is from His Divine love.
This love, or the life thence derived,
inflows and applies itself to the vessels
which are in a person's rational,
and to those which are in his natural.
In consequence of the hereditary evil
into which a person is born,
and of the actual evil which he acquires,
these vessels are in a contrary position within him
relatively to the inflowing life,
yet insofar as the life which flows in
can dispose the vessels to receive it,
it does so dispose them.
These vessels in the rational person,
and in the natural,
are what are called truths,
but in themselves
they are merely perceptions
of the variations of form of these vessels,
and of the changes of state
according to which in diverse ways
these variations come forth,
being effected in the most subtle substances,
by methods inexpressible.
Good itself,
which has life from the Lord,
or which is life,
is that which flows in and disposes.

When therefore these vessels,
which are to be varied as to forms,
are as before said

in a contrary position and direction in respect to the life,
it is evident that they must be reduced

to a position in accordance with the life,
or into compliance with it.
This cannot possibly be effected

so long as the person is in that state

into which he is born,
and to which he has reduced himself;
for the vessels are not obedient,
being obstinately resistant,
and hardening themselves against the heavenly order
according to which the life acts;
for the good which moves them,
and with which they comply,
is of the love of self and of the world;
which good, from the gross heat that is in it,
causes them to be of such a quality;
and therefore before they can be rendered compliant
and fit to receive anything of the life of the Lord's love,
they must be softened.
This softening is effected by
no other means than temptations;
for temptations remove all that is of the love of self
and of contempt for others in comparison with self,
consequently all that is of self-glory,
and also of hatred and revenge on this account.
When therefore the vessels have been

somewhat tempered and subdued by temptations,
they begin to become yielding to, and compliant with,
the life of the Lord's love,
which continually flows in with man.

So it is then

that good begins to be conjoined with truths;

first in the rational person,
and afterwards in the natural;
for as before said

truths are nothing else

than perceptions of the variations of form

according to states that are continually being changed;
and these perceptions are from the life which flows in.
This is the reason why a person is regenerated,

that is, made new, by temptations;
or what is the same, by spiritual combats;

and that he is afterwards gifted with another nature;

being made mild, humble, simple, and contrite in heart.
From these considerations

it may now be seen what use temptations promote,

namely, that good from the Lord may not only flow in,

but may also dispose the vessels to obedience,

and thus conjoin itself with them.
That truths are vessels receptive of good,

may be seen above.
Here therefore, because the subject is

the conjunction of good and truth in the natural man,

and the first of conjunction takes place

by means of combats,

which are those of temptations,

it is evident that by "he was weary" i

s signified a state of combat.

But as regards the Lord,
who in the supreme sense is here treated of,
He by the most grievous temptation
combats reduced all things in Himself into Divine order,
insomuch that there remained nothing at all
of the human which He had derived from the mother,
so that He was not made new as are other men,
but altogether Divine.
For the person who is made new by regeneration
still retains in himself an inclination to evil,
and even evil itself;
but is withheld from evil
by an influx of the life of the Lord's love,
and this with a force exceeding great;
whereas the Lord utterly cast out all the evil
that was hereditary to Him from the mother,
and made Himself Divine,
even as to the vessels,
that is, as to truths.
This is that which in the Word is called "glorification."

 

AC 3316 - Pottage - a soup or a stew

AC 3316 [1, 2]

And Jacob boiled pottage.
(Genesis 25:29)

That this means a chaotic mass of doctrinal things,
is evident from the representation of Jacob,
as being the doctrine of natural truth,
thus the doctrinal things which are in the natural person;
and from the meaning of "pottage,"
as being a chaotic mass of such things.

The first state of the person who is being regenerated,
or in whom truth is being conjoined with good,
is that first of all in his natural person,
or in its storehouse called the memory,
there are amassed the doctrinal things of truth
without any certain order.
The doctrinal things therein at that time
may be compared to
some undigested and uncompounded mass,
and to a kind of chaos.
But this is to the end
that they may be reduced to order,
for whatever is to be reduced to order
is at first in this state of confusion;
and this is what is meant by the pottage
which Jacob boiled, that is, amassed.
These doctrinal things
are not reduced to order by themselves,
but by the good which flows into them,
and the good reduces them into order
in exact proportion to the amount and the quality
of its action upon them.
When good first longs for and desires
these doctrinal things,
to the end that it may conjoin them with itself,
it manifests itself
under the appearance of the affection of truth.

~ Daniel Praises the God of Heaven ~

"Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever;
wisdom and power are His.
He changes times and seasons;
He sets up kings and deposes them.
He gives wisdom to the wise
and knowledge to the discerning.
He reveals deep and hidden things;
He knows what lies in darkness,
and light dwells with Him.
I thank and praise You,
O God of my fathers:
You have given me wisdom and power,
You have made known to me what we asked of You,
You have made known to us
the dream of the king."

(Daniel 2:19.5-23)

AC 3314 - What the World Does Not Know About the Rational

AC 3314 [2]

. . . the world, even the learned world,
is ignorant of the most general truths upon the subject --
as that the rational is distinct from the natural,
and that it is good and truth
which constitute both the rational and the natural;
and still less is it known
that the rational must flow into the natural
in order for a person to be able to think,
and to will as he thinks.
As these most general truths are unknown,
the influx spoken of above
can with difficulty be comprehended;
and yet these are matters in regard to which
the angels have light,
and perceive things innumerable,
and this attended with the delight in which
they are when it is given them
at the same time to think concerning
the Lord's Divine in respect to the Human.
The person who is in good
and in whom there is what is angelic
while he is in the body,
is also gifted with some light from the Lord
on these and similar subjects;
but he who is not in good
feels a loathing when thinking of such things,
and the more so the more he thinks of them
as applied to the Divine
that pertains to the Lord's Human.
It is better therefore
that those who are of such a nature
should remove their mind from such subjects;
for they comprehend nothing of them,
and even reject them;
saying at heart,
What is this to me?
will bring me neither honors nor gain.

AC 3308 - "The Boys Grew Up"

AC 3308
 

The boys grew up.
(Genesis 25:27)

That this means the first state, namely,
of the conjunction of good and truth . . .
and from the meaning of the "boys,"
as being good and truth;
for good is represented by the "boy Esau,"
and truth by the "boy Jacob," . . ..
The case with good and truth
is the same as with offspring,
in that they are conceived, are in the womb,
are born, grow up, and also advance in age
even to the last.
That they are conceived, are in the womb,
and are born, pertains to the state of origin;
but that they grow up,
and advance in age even to the last,
pertains to the state of progress.
The state of progress advances
in succession from the birth,
and is a state of the conjunction of good and truth.
The first of this state
is that which is here meant by "growing up."
This state commences immediately after birth,
and is continued even to the last of life;
and with those who are in good,
after the life of the body to eternity.
The angels are thus being continually perfected.

AC 3304, 3305 - Reading the Word

AC 3304 [3]

Those who keep the mind solely in the historicals,
and who are not able to withdraw it from them,
do not know but that these and former passages
simply foretell the events which came to pass
 between Esau and Jacob,
and this conviction is confirmed also by what follows.
But the Word of the Lord is of such a nature
that the historicals are in their own series,
while the spiritual things of the internal sense
are in theirs;
so that the former may be viewed
by the external person,
and the latter by the internal person,
and that in this way there may be
a correspondence between the two, namely,
between the external person and the internal;
and this by means of the Word,
for the Word is the union of earth and heaven,
as has been frequently shown.
Thus in everyone
who is in a holy state while reading the Word,
there is a union of his external person
which is on the earth,
with his internal person
which is in heaven.

AC 3305 [2]

Those who abide in the mere sense of the letter
believe that by "Jacob" in the Word is meant
all that people which was descended from Jacob,
and for this reason they apply to that people
all things that have been said
historically and prophetically concerning Jacob.
But the Word is Divine chiefly in this respect,
that all things in it both in general and in particular
do not regard one nation or one people,
but the universal human race;
namely, that which is,
which has been,
and which will be;
and also that which is still more universal,
namely, the Lord's kingdom in the heavens;
and in the supreme sense,
the Lord Himself.
It is for this reason that the Word is Divine.

AC 3286 - Correspondence & Regeneration; AC 3286 - Old Becomes New

AC 3286 [3]

The work of regeneration is chiefly concerned
in bringing about the correspondence
of the natural person to the rational person,
not only in general,
but also in particular;
and the natural person
is reduced to correspondence by the Lord
through the rational,
in that good is insinuated into the rational,
and in this good as in ground
truths are implanted,
and then by means of rational truths
the natural is reduced to obedience;
and when it obeys,
then it corresponds;
and insofar as it corresponds,
so far is the person regenerate.

AC 3296 [2]

. . . as the Lord altogether changed
His human state into the Divine,
so also in a person,
when He regenerates him,
the Lord utterly changes the person's state,
for He makes his old person new.